Matthew 16:24–25 says; “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” Note what Jesus said here; whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

So, Jesus is teaching us here how to find and lose or how to make profit and loss. And the focus of this article is about how you can be profitable to yourself and also to the people you lead. The secret to the statement Jesus made here is simply attributed to ‘life’. I have come to discover that those who make gain are those who have life, and those who loose are those who do not have life. If the activities of man, the profitability and success of man on the earth is tied to life how comes so many men have not been able to walk into this experience even though they are alive. There is something required to make man a living being, when a man or leader begins to walk in this experience; “the experience of the breath of the almighty”, such a leader has come in contact or have found life.

 

Leaders in the context of this discussion are divided into categories; there are leaders who desire to follow the path of life, they have found the path but yet finding it difficult to deny themselves some certain pleasures. There are also leaders who moves from the phase of desire to denial of some certain things but haven’t taken up the burden or cross of Christ. The only proof that a leader has actually denied himself is when he/she has taken the burden of Christ and is actually walking in the full consciousness of it. This is what purpose is all about and this is what life is all about.

 

So, what is life? Is life about inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide? Is life about drinking and partying? Is life about making money? What is actually the meaning of life? Is it about eating meat and making merry? What exactly is life and how does it translate to profitability to us and to others? People could have different perspective to life. But is my submission and conclusion about life. Life on a general note could be described as a condition that distinguishes between being alive from being dead. And that significant difference is the presence or absence of the Spirit of life or what could be called the breath of the almighty. Life talks about having the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change. It is simply the absence of death. This means that whenever the word life is mentioned, certain words appear very strong; which are growth, reproduction, functional activity and continual change.

 

So, when we talk about life, it is primarily about purpose; i.e. what you reproduce, what you grow in, how you function, and how you change the scope of things around your environment or work place. So, what was Jesus simply trying to say when He said whoever loses his life for my sake will find it? He was simply saying whatever you lose for the sake of Christ is not lost, He was also saying there is a necessary process you must go through in order to experience growth, reproduction, functional activity or continual change and that process is called death. So, Jesus was telling us here that if you must find life you must first find death, and you don’t just die for anyhow course, but for the sake of Christ. So, it is only those who die, it is only the seeds that fall to the ground and die that eventually experience resurrection power. Resurrection power is an experience that is possible, but it is not for all believers. So, your refusal to die is your refusal to find life and become profitable. Jesus said unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abided alone. Another word for death is self-denial. Why is the issue of self-denial so vital and important?

 

It is important because, Self-denial is the sure pathway to stepping into the reality of Gods purposes and counsel for any destiny. So, when you find a leader demonstrating, exemplifying or modelling self-denial and making the practice of it his or her pleasure; such a leader is creating and stepping into a magnificent or glorious world and destiny that he/she never could have imagined. When you look closely at the life and activities of Adam in the garden of Eden, you will realize that fruitfulness and multiplication was naturally an experience he was having on a daily basis. Why? Because he had life. How did this life come? Because He denied Himself and submitted to the government of heaven, which also means that the laws of God are binding on his expressions, convictions, desires and intentions. Self-denial means that he was living for nothing else or nobody else but for God and His purposes.

 

So, how can a leader deny himself or die to self? Such a must first die to his own will and secondly pick up the will of God or the cross of Christ and live with it. This is how life is meant to be lived in the kingdom. This is how great leaders do works that outlive them, this is how to become profitable in the kingdom.

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Apeh Francis Abah!

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