Ok, well maybe I don't hate my life, but maybe I should. This past Sunday's Gospel reading had me really thinking. Especially John 12:25 "Who ever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life." I certainly did not understand that. I read it over and over. Then it dawned on me, "in this world" What is different about this world than Christ's heavenly kingdom world. Well, for one thing, stuff. Material things. This is what most of us live for. A nice house, an expensive car, jewelry, toys, country clubs. These are the things that we love that make us happy. I think Christ is asking us to hate that stuff. Maybe not hate, but certainly not love more than we love Him or others. We can enjoy these things but not at the expense of others. Also, we may hate our lives because of pain and suffering, trials and tribulations. The crosses that we have to carry. But these are things that can bring us closer to God. If, because of having to endure these things, we hate our lives, we can take comfort in knowing they are helping to preserve us for an eternal life with Christ free of them.
I'm not completely sure this is what Christ meant when He said what He did, but it's something worth thinking about.
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