To Lose Or Save Your Life

Luke 9: 23-26

And He was saying to them all, If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.
For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?
For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Jesus is saying here that to hold onto your life will lose it, it will slip through your fingers. But to give it up for Christ will gain it forever. 

So His reference to gain[ing] the whole world would be to seek this life and hold onto this life and the things of this life in denial or rejection of Christ and taking up a cross, being willing to suffer and die, for His sake. 

Whatever we gain in this life will be moot in the next. It won't do us any good there. Following the Biblical principles of faith in asking, seeking, and knocking may pile up Earthly treasures, but to do it without or in defiance of Christ will ensure that all the gain will be burned up. 

How much better to not put the priority on gaining Worldly riches, but in serving Christ with our lives, and using what wealth we are able to gain here in promotion of His Kingdom. Using whatever material goods we have to broadcast (cast broadly) the Good News (Gospel) of how much God loves us, to send His own, most precious, to die in our place to wash us totally pristine, perfectly white, and fit to live with God in His perfect Heaven. 

O my Father, You are so great and gracious and compassionate with us! Your power and authority over all is stupendous! Your love for us is unimaginable! Father, I don't know why You chose to rescue us from all the darkness and chaos and pay such a high price for us! But You did. Thank you!

You have planned such a wonderful forever for us who You have chosen. And when we choose to seek Your Kingdom ways over our Earthly ways, then our position and work we will be able to perform and enjoy in the New Earth will be so much more than we are capable of achieving here now. 

And every eye will see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will proclaim in every language that Jesus is Lord of all creation, to the glory of the Father!

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!