“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

(Mt 10:39)

In this word of life, two kinds of existence come into relief: the earthly life that is built in this world, and the supernatural life that is given by God through Jesus, a life that does not end with death and that no one can take
away from us.

We can, therefore, choose between two attitudes. One is to be attached to our earthly life, considering it as our only good. This attitude leads to thinking only of ourselves, only of our own affairs, only of our children, thereby sealing ourselves up within a shell and affirming only our ego. This road inevitably ends up in the emptiness of certain death. The other choice, instead, is to believe that God has given us a much more profound and authentic existence. This gives us the courage to live in a manner that merits this gift to the point of “losing” our earthly life for that other life.

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

When Jesus said these words, he was thinking of martyrdom. Like all Christians, we should be ready to follow the Master and to remain faithful to the Gospel, to lose our life, even to die a violent death, if necessary. Then, with the grace of God, we will obtain the true life. Jesus was the first one who “lost his life,” and he regained it glorified. He warned us, “Do not to be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Mt 10:28). Today he tells us:

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

If we read the Gospel carefully, we will see that Jesus goes back to this thought six times. This shows how important it is and how much Jesus values it.

But for Jesus, the exhortation to lose one’s life is not only an invitation to martyrdom. It is a fundamental law of Christian life.

We must be ready to reject the temptation to set up our own selves as the ideal of our lives; we have to give up our selfishness. If we want to be authentic Christians, we must put Christ at the center of our lives. What does Christ want from us? Love for others. If this becomes our lifestyle, we will have “lost” our own life, and found eternal life.

And not living for oneself certainly does not mean, as some may think, to be laid back and passive. Indeed, Christians need to be firmly committed and fully responsible.

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Even in this life, it is possible to experience that by giving of ourselves, by putting love into every action, “life” grows within us. When we spend our day at the service of others, when we transform our work (which is perhaps monotonous and tedious) into a gesture of love, we experience the joy of greater fulfillment.

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

By following Jesus’ commandments, which all focus on love, we will find after this brief life eternal life as well.

Let us remember what Jesus will say and do on the day of judgment. To those on his right: “Come, you that are blessed by my Father ... for I was hungry and you gave me food ... I was … a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me” (Mt 25:34-36).

To let us participate in the life that does not pass away, Jesus will look at just one thing: if we loved our neighbors. He will consider done to himself whatever we did to them.

How then should we live this Word of Life? How should we “lose” our life even now in order to find it? By preparing ourselves for that great and decisive final examination that we were born for.

Let’s look around us and fill our day with acts of love. Christ presents himself to us in our children, wife, husband, people we work with and relax with, and even politicians. Let’s do good to everyone. And let’s not forget those we hear about each day through friends or through the media. Let’s do something for everyone, according to our means. And when we have exhausted our means, we can still pray for our neighbor.

Loving is what counts.

Teens4Unity Word of Life June 2010 (197.17 kB)

The Word of Life, a sentence of Scripture, is offered each month as a guide and inspiration for daily life. Its translation into 90 different languages and dialects reaches several million people worldwide, through print, radio, TV and the internet. From the Focolare Movement’s beginnings, Chiara Lubich wrote her commentaries on the Word of Life, and after her death on March 14, 2008, her early writings are now being featured once again. This commentary was originally published in June 1999. If you would like to read experiences of life related to this or to past “Words of Life,” they can be found in Living City, the Focolare monthly magazine (livingcitymagazine.com) or in books published by New City Press (newcitypress.com).
For information, to subscribe or to order the special issue of Living City dedicated to Chiara Lubich, write to: Living City, 202 Comforter Blvd, Hyde Park, NY 12538 - 845-229-0496; e-mail: Esta dirección electrónica esta protegida contra spambots. Es necesario activar Javascript para visualizarla . Visit focolare.org (intl). focolare.us (U.S.)

© 2010 by the Focolare Movement (New York).