Our lives tell a story—a story about who we are and what we value, where we’ve come from and where we’re going, what we want and what we’ll do to get it. And what most of us do is, we make “the story” of our lives about us.
But God makes “the story” of our lives about Christ. Someone has said, “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last” (C. T. Studd, 1860-1931). Is that true? And if it is, what will we do?
If we want to be authentic disciples—if we want to grow spiritually—what we’ll do is: We will exchange “our story” for “His story.” How? By living to show three truths about life: (1) life is not about self but about the Savior, (2) life is not about survival but about sacrifice, and (3) life is not about getting but about giving.
LIFE IS NOT ABOUT SELF BUT ABOUT THE SAVIOR
First of all, let’s affirm that life is not about self but about the Savior. Not everybody thinks that. In fact, most people don’t think that. But it’s true. The big question in life is not “Who are you?” but rather, “Who is Christ?”
The Question Is Not “Who Are You?”
One day, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” (Luke 9:18). In other words, What’s the word on the street about my identity? There were a lot of opinions. The disciples reported what people were saying: “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen” (v. 19). You have to admit: all those answers were pretty far-fetched. Makes you wonder what prompted people to say such things. Could it be that we like to make Jesus what we want Him to be? And why would we do that? Because, maybe, if we can customize Jesus to suit our own tastes, our made-to-order Jesus will validate our personal agenda. We twist Jesus’ question from who is He? to who am I? We make “the story” of our lives about us.
The Question Is “Who Is Christ?”
But “the story” is not about us. The issue isn’t who are you? The issue is who is Christ? When you look back at our text, do you see how Jesus pressed this question? Whatever others say about Me, “Who do you say that I am?” (v. 20). And it was Peter who answered, “The Christ of God.” Right answer! Christ is another word for Messiah, and both words—Messiah and Christ—mean “the anointed One,” that is, the One specially set apart by God to redeem His people.
So, I am not “the one.” You are not “the one.” Jesus is “the One.” We are always trying to make “the story” about us. God always makes “the story” about Jesus. Life is not about self but about the Savior. That’s the first affirmation we must make.
LIFE IS NOT ABOUT SURVIVAL BUT ABOUT SACRIFICE
And there is a second affirmation. Since life is not about self but about the Savior, we must then affirm that life is not about survival, but, rather, it is about sacrifice. That’s what Jesus’ life was about, and if my life is not about me but about Him, then what?
Our First Concern Is Not the Cost to Us
Here’s what: My first concern is not the cost to me. Look at verse 21. When Peter correctly identified Jesus as the Christ of God, what did Jesus do? “He strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one.” Notice the intensity of Luke’s words: he uses terms like strictly, and it’s not enough that Jesus simply charged His disciples to tell no one. He commanded them! This must not get out. Not yet. Why not? Why couldn’t people know that He was the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed One, who would save them?
Because they wouldn’t understand what His messiahship entailed—not without the cross. The cross makes it clear that life is not about survival but, rather, about sacrifice. And people prefer survival over sacrifice. So the people of His day would seek to make Him a king—an earthly king, you see, with an earthly agenda, which would not include a cross. They would make the story not about Him but about them. Remember how Matthew treats this incident? When Jesus tells the disciples that He “must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things…and be killed,” Peter, who has just correctly identified Him as the Christ, now “rebuke[s] him” and says, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you” (Matt. 16:21, 22). What’s Peter doing? He’s making his first concern the cost to himself—and, secondarily, to Jesus. He’s doing whatever he can to avoid sacrifice for the sake of survival. But survival is not Jesus’ first concern. And it cannot be ours either.
Our First Concern Is the Benefit to Others
Our first concern is to be the benefit to others. That was Jesus’ first concern. When He says, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected…and be killed” (Luke 9:22), He is thinking of others. They’re His first concern. We’re His first concern. For Him, life is not about survival. It is about sacrifice. He could have avoided the cost of the cross, but it would have been of no benefit to us. His sacrifice was necessary for our salvation. If He hadn’t gone to Jerusalem and suffered and if He hadn’t been rejected and killed, we would still be in our sins. But “by His wounds you have been healed” (1 Pet. 2:25). You know who said that? Well, Isaiah said it first, but Isaiah is quoted by none other than Peter himself, the man who had to learn—as you and I do—that life is not about survival. It is about sacrifice.
LIFE IS NOT ABOUT GETTING BUT ABOUT GIVING
And that brings us to the third affirmation we must make if “the story” is not to be about us but about Jesus. We have seen, first, that life is not about self but the Savior. And, second, is that life is not about survival but sacrifice. Now we come to the third affirmation: Life is not about getting but about giving.
Over the course of this series, I have been sharing with you four components of active discipleship—or four requirements for spiritual growth. We must abide in the Word. That was week one, remember. We must pray our hearts out. That was week two. Then, last week, we saw that we must be killing sin. And now, this week, what is it? If we want to grow spiritually, if we want to be authentic disciples, we must give our lives away. And that means that, if we save our life, we will lose it, but if we lose our life for Christ, we will save it.
This is the great paradox of the Christian life. Someone has defined paradox as an apparently self-contradictory statement that, upon examination, proves to be true. We are familiar with the idea of paradox. We’ve all heard things like, “It is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we live.” And here, in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Luke 9:24f.). Life is not about getting but about giving. And if we want to grow spiritually—if we want to be authentic disciples—we must give our lives away.
Your life tells a story. But whose story does it tell? In your story, are you the hero, or is Jesus? Someone once asked, “If you were arrested and tried for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” I’m thinking not, if you are self-preoccupied and self-absorbed, if your primary goals have to do with survival and acquisition.
But, as Scripture says, “In your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things” (Heb. 6:9). I believe the best about you. So, here’s what I want you to do. Three things, actually. First, I want you to learn what the Bible says about Jesus—and learn it well enough to defend it. Jesus asked his disciples who people said He was, and the answers were all over the place. There’s always somebody trying to tailor Jesus to fit their own preconceptions, but He is not a plastic figure that we can shape any way we choose. Find out what Scripture says about Him. You’ll have to do some research, but you can do it. You don’t have to be spoon-fed. Do the work. Make the effort. Find out. That’s the first thing I want you to do. Will you do it? Will you?
Second, I want you to make sure about your salvation. Jesus announced to His disciples that He was to go to Jerusalem, suffer, and be killed—and the third day He would be raised. This was all to secure the salvation of those who put their trust in Him. Have you truly done that? Have you forsaken all others and all else to cleave to Him and only to Him? Can you say with the songwriter, “I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name?” Are you saved? Are you sure? I want you to be sure. If there is any doubt on your part, I want you to settle the matter once and for all. And I want you to do it today. Will you?
There’s a third thing I want you to do. I want you to make a sacrifice, a sacrifice for Christ. He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” The cross, remember, is an instrument of death. We must die to some things in order to live for Christ. We must sacrifice our time, perhaps, or our money, or our plans—whatever He requires of us—to do His work. Our sacrifice does not lead to our salvation, but it definitely leads from it. It doesn’t secure our redemption, but it is definitely evidence that we have been redeemed. So, I want you write down some sacrifice the Lord is asking you to make—some way He is calling you to give your life away for Him. Will you do it?
We all have a story. And it is a great temptation to make the story about us. But God makes the story—even the story of our lives—about Jesus. And what that means for us is: We need to exchange “our story” for “His story.” And what we’ve seen is that we do that by living to show three things: (1) that life is not about self but the Savior; (2) it’s not about survival but sacrifice. And (3) it’s not about getting but giving.
You and I both have been around people who make everything all about them, and we’ve been around people who make everything about Jesus. When it comes to deciding which of those two options we prefer, it makes the choice pretty clear. Make your life story about Jesus, and you’ll know you’ve made the right choice.
