Scripture: Mark 8:34-35
Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”
Thought for the Day: In my study last night entitled – Prayer Launch – I referenced Dag Hammarskjöld, the great economist who was serving as the Secretary General of the United Nations when he was killed in a plane crash. He was a brilliant man who had a fascinating love affair with faith and philosophy. In his book, Markings, he wrote:
When you have reached the point where you no longer expect a response, you will at last be able to give in such a way that the other is able to receive, and be grateful. When Love has matured and, through a dissolution of the self into light, become a radiance, then shall the Lover be liberated from dependence upon the Beloved, and the Beloved also be made perfect by being liberated from the Lover.
So often our lives are based in an assumption that our giving will produce something in return. Though we rarely state it out loud, we carry with us an expectation that our giving will be reciprocated. This is not the love of which Jesus spoke. He invited us to let go, give generously, expect nothing in return, and to do so trusting in the power of love. It can be a bit frightening as we let go of what we have in a spirit of gratitude that does not presume or even look for gratitude in the recipient. It is love, or as Dag Hammarskjöld suggested, it is a love that has matured through a dissolution of the self.
Prayer: O Mighty God, show me again and again the life of Jesus, for he is the model of how you desire us to live and love. Amen.
