The Life of the Opened Hand
By Roy Lessin
He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 10:39 NKJV
No words are more powerful, penetrating, or life changing than the words of Jesus Christ. His words are truth and they go to the deepest part of our being. He said that He came to bear witness to the truth. The words of Jesus have life and authority in them. They cut and heal; convict and comfort; expose and cover; separate and unify; crucify and resurrect; break and make whole.
Jesus’ words recorded in Matthew 10:39 are an example of the authority in which He speaks. There is nothing vague, misleading, or compromising in what He says. If we want the life He wants for us (and what His death, resurrection, and ascension made possible for us to have), we must fully receive His words.
Jesus wants us to have the fullness of His life—filling us, empowering us, enabling us, strengthening us, ruling us, working through us. He calls this life “abundant life” (John 10:10). How can this abundant life be ours (not ours theoretically or positionally, but in us as a reality)? Jesus tells us that the life He came to give us can only be ours through loss. This is a truth we cannot ignore or skip over and expect to live in His abundance.
What does it mean to lose our life? Jesus is not speaking about our physical death, or saying that the abundant life can only be ours when we get to heaven. When He speaks about losing our lives He is referring to the ownership of our lives. He is saying that our lives, once given to Him, are no longer our possession, but His. We cannot live an abundant life if we want to control things, keep our rights, have our own way, or keep a tight grip on what we do and what we have.
The word “lose” that Jesus spoke in Matthew 10:39 is a strong word. It means something deeper than surrender, consecration, or the rededication of our lives. The word means “to die” or to “perish.” In the verse preceding Matthew 10:39 Jesus told us we must take up our cross and follow Him. The cross is God’s way for us to “lose our lives.”
To lose our lives means we must let go of everything and anything we have in our grip. Paul tells us we are “Crucified with Christ.” A crucified life is a life that is free of possessiveness and personal ownership.
If we are not living a crucified life we will want to be in control and hang onto things. We will attempt to keep a tight hold on our plans and future, our family and friends, our careers and jobs, our talents and gifts, our property and possessions, or our image and reputation. This “tight hold” tires us out, wears us down, and keeps us in anxiety, stress, and worry. In our attempts to have the joys of life, we lose the joy of life. Instead of living in freedom, we live in the fear of what will happen and what will be taken away.
Jesus wants us to lose our lives so we can find them. What do we find as we live a crucified life and let go of things we are tightly holding? We find a life of pleasing the Father; a life of knowing His heart; a life motivated by love; a life lived with an eternal purpose; a life that enjoys the things He freely gives us; a life controlled by peace; a life at rest in God’s control; a life that is secure in His hands, in His care, and in His keeping.
How blessed are those who live the life of the opened hand.
For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3 NLT