Have you ever loved someone so much that you would give your life for them? Or better yet, so much that you would give your life without any glory? That’s the tricky part of it. The idea of self-sacrifice gets a lot less attractive if you don’t get any praise for it. I was once talking with a friend who said he would do absolutely anything for the good of his beloved wife. I eventually figured out he meant that he would fight a dragon, but not necessarily that he would unload a dishwasher.
The way to eternal life that Jesus teaches flies in the face of all of our natural human ways. Every single one of us loves our own life by default. We prioritize our own pleasure and power and reputation—and even if we do something selfless, we at least want a little applause for it. We are often our own idols! But the one who follows Jesus is the one who utterly denies himself all of these desires and is willing to turn all attention, priority, and blessing onto God. It’s one of the great paradoxes of Christian life that the way to have good life is to genuinely not want it. Our fundamental motivator should be love of God, even more than love of self.
If you’re not grappling with how radical that calling is, you should be; and if you are, rejoice in the fact that we have a perfect example of this kind of self-sacrifice in Christ Jesus! The desires of Jesus’ flesh burned for self-preservation and self-exaltation; after all, he was human. And yet because he loved his Father more than he loved his own flesh, and because he loved his people more than he loved his own pleasure, he gave up absolutely everything. But get this: for renouncing all worldly glory, the Son of Man was glorified by his Father, because he epitomized the divine ethic of selfless love!
Following Jesus means following his example. If we set aside our own life and every good thing we have, we will paradoxically find ourselves with unparalleled glory and life. That doesn’t mean we all have to be martyrs. But every day, every one of us has the opportunity to set aside the self-worship to which we’re naturally drawn and commit our day to selflessly serving the Lord. And just as the Father glorified Christ for his love, he will glorify us as well.
