Jeremiah 30-31
Philemon
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it.” —Matthew 16:25
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus gives us an invitation to partake in His life. Some may interpret it as a life of suffering, but what Jesus is actually inviting us to find is life beyond our suffering, which may sound like a paradox.
I (Farzam Mohajer) have seen this paradox in my friends who live on the streets. In a little recovery house for people to come off the streets, it is not easy to live there. Why? Because people who are living on the streets with all the freedom of the world are told in the recovery house when to wake up, what to eat for breakfast and when to do chores. Seeing how much they struggle to rebuild their lives, I sometimes ask them, “Why bother? Why don’t you just go back to the streets?” They would tell me, “Farzam, you don’t know how much these drugs have stolen from us. As hard as it is here, I see life being birthed.” These people, without exception, went to drugs due to trauma and pain, but instead of running away from the pain, they ended up becoming slaves to drugs. The truth is, sometimes, what we so desperately want to hold onto—what we think would give us life—is actually what is killing us.
Now, in recovery, as these people deny themselves, embrace the cross and follow Jesus, they experience healing. They are taught virtue, which is knowing the difference between right and wrong and choosing to do what is right. The journey into true freedom in Christ is not a walk in the park. In Infinite Jest, the late David Foster Wallace writes “Everything I’ve ever let go of has claw marks on it” (on the wall of a bedroom at a recovery house for alcoholics and drug addicts).
Jesus’s invitation to partake in His life of suffering and letting go of our desires that are not aligned with Him is actually love. We would not be willing to suffer and surrender our life to Christ, even when we know the benefits that might come out of the choice, if it were just a duty. We are only able to truly suffer and surrender to Christ when we love Him more each day. 1 John 4:19 tells us, “We love because He first loved us.” In light of Jesus’s great love that came after us, we are able to deny ourselves, let go of what we desperately cling to, go through recovery and come out with a new life birthed in us.
Beautiful Lord, thank You for Your loving invitation to partake in Your life. Help me to surrender my desires that are not aligned with You and walk in the newness of life
Philemon
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it.” —Matthew 16:25
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus gives us an invitation to partake in His life. Some may interpret it as a life of suffering, but what Jesus is actually inviting us to find is life beyond our suffering, which may sound like a paradox.
I (Farzam Mohajer) have seen this paradox in my friends who live on the streets. In a little recovery house for people to come off the streets, it is not easy to live there. Why? Because people who are living on the streets with all the freedom of the world are told in the recovery house when to wake up, what to eat for breakfast and when to do chores. Seeing how much they struggle to rebuild their lives, I sometimes ask them, “Why bother? Why don’t you just go back to the streets?” They would tell me, “Farzam, you don’t know how much these drugs have stolen from us. As hard as it is here, I see life being birthed.” These people, without exception, went to drugs due to trauma and pain, but instead of running away from the pain, they ended up becoming slaves to drugs. The truth is, sometimes, what we so desperately want to hold onto—what we think would give us life—is actually what is killing us.
Now, in recovery, as these people deny themselves, embrace the cross and follow Jesus, they experience healing. They are taught virtue, which is knowing the difference between right and wrong and choosing to do what is right. The journey into true freedom in Christ is not a walk in the park. In Infinite Jest, the late David Foster Wallace writes “Everything I’ve ever let go of has claw marks on it” (on the wall of a bedroom at a recovery house for alcoholics and drug addicts).
Jesus’s invitation to partake in His life of suffering and letting go of our desires that are not aligned with Him is actually love. We would not be willing to suffer and surrender our life to Christ, even when we know the benefits that might come out of the choice, if it were just a duty. We are only able to truly suffer and surrender to Christ when we love Him more each day. 1 John 4:19 tells us, “We love because He first loved us.” In light of Jesus’s great love that came after us, we are able to deny ourselves, let go of what we desperately cling to, go through recovery and come out with a new life birthed in us.
Beautiful Lord, thank You for Your loving invitation to partake in Your life. Help me to surrender my desires that are not aligned with You and walk in the newness of life
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