Can You Give It Up?

Published by davisadmin on May 28, 2024May 28, 2024

We are asked to give up many things in life. Things like:

A round of applause for a speaker.

Could you give it up for the band?

Give up smoking, drinking, fried foods, and sweets for a healthier way of life.

And yet, when it boils down to it, what are we genuinely doing when we’re asked to “give it up?”

One could say that we’re yielding or relinquishing something. Another might say that we are abandoning some task or goal. Some might say that in giving it up, we stop doing something in particular, often a habit. Then, some would agree that we surrender when we “give it up.”

However, in our passage today, the Apostle Matthew records Jesus’s philosophy on life — giving it up.

Jesus is explaining to His disciples that if they try to hold on to their lives and their worldly desires, they will lose them. Living life to the fullest outside of Christ is a sure way to miss out on spending eternity with the Father. But if we can give up our selfish desires, life can be found in Christ without end.

It reminds me of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus and asked what he must do to gain eternal life (Matthew 19:16). I guess the young ruler thought Jesus would put a price tag on eternity, and all he would need to do was shell out a couple of shekels, and everything would be set. But to his surprise, he is told to give up all his possessions—give up life as he knows it (Matthew 19:21).

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). True life is found in Him. It’s not in the number of likes we can get to our Facebook posts or the six-figure job we can acquire. These things are temporal — here today and gone tomorrow. But giving up your life for Christ leads to life everlasting.