Last week we introduced the idea of God’s economy. We contrasted it with the world’s economy when we said the world’s economy is driven by money and things, but God’s economy is driven by love and people. We discovered that God has a plan for every person and that we have a choice in that plan. We can either buy-in to his purpose for us or we can go our own way. Jesus bought in to what God called him to do when he began his public ministry. We buy-in by believing Jesus is who he says he is and does what he says he will do.
This week we are going to look at the economic force of selling. Specifically selling-out, or being fully committed to God’s plan. Again, Jesus is the example of selling-out to God’s purpose. The Gospels give us great insight to Jesus’ selling out to God’s call. See Matt 26:36-39, Mark 14:32-36, Luke 22:39-44, and John 18:1-11. In the Garden of Gethsemane, on the night he was betrayed, Jesus prayed asking God to change his mind. Jesus did not want to go through with what he knew was coming next. But he always said, “not my will, but yours”. Jesus died to himself. He put his own will, his own well-being, secondary to the will of God. Similarly, Jesus taught that we, too, must die to ourselves. Luke 14:25-27 “Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Matthew 16:24-25 “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
We must put God first and everything, everyone, even ourselves after God. When we do this, when we die to ourselves, we sell-out to God’s plan for us. And when we sell-out to God, we gain far more and far better than anything we give up!