I Hate my Life by Matthew Byars

Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

I Hate My Life (Jn. 12:25) I have often heard the phrase "I hate my life" used by teenagers whether real or on TV when they believe things are not going well for them. You may have heard it used in many other contexts as well. Remembering this phrase made me think of one of the times Jesus directs us to hate in the Bible. This doesn't seem like something He should say at first glance, but a little study shows that the word He used here can mean "to love less." In our text, Jesus just compared His coming death to that of a grain of wheat in order to illustrate the need for Him to die to bear the abundant fruit of the salvation of many. In verse 25 He goes on to say that whoever loves his or her life loses it. That means that whoever loves their life in this world more than eternal life will lose both. That is in direct contradiction to the worldly sentiment of loving life now and forgetting the consequences. Jesus continues by saying that whoever hates his or her life in this world, or loves it less than eternal life, will keep this life and gain eternal life as well. Jesus restates this concept several times in the gospels (Mt. 10:37-39, 16:24-25; Mk. 8:34; Lk. 9:23, 14:27) so it must be important. Brothers and sisters, what is our priority? Do we love this world so much that we neglect seeking a godly life? Do we make our daily choices thinking only of what makes our lives happier now instead of what has eternal value? I encourage all of us to examine ourselves to find out if we love this life less than eternal life. If that is the case, we must submit to the Spirit and make eternity our priority.