Then (Jesus) called the crowd to him
along with his disciples and said:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves
and take up their cross
and follow me.
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me
and for the gospel will save it.
~ Mark 8:34-35
Call it the counterintuitive invitation.
Or the paradoxical path of discovery.
Or the implausible key to everything...
We find our life by losing it to Jesus.
This Sunday,
we make our own "gambit" with Jesus-
Lay down your life to him,
and find the life you were made to live.
A "gambit" was originally a chess term.
The King's Gambit is an opening move in which a player sacrifices material, usually a pawn, with the hope of achieving a resulting advantageous position.
“Sacrifice a player to achieve an advantageous position.”
God made a sacrifice on our behalf.
The King of Heaven became human and was nailed to a cross.
But that move has gained us a great advantage-
By his sacrifice we can have eternal life.
This Sunday we start our Easter Season.
We walk with Jesus through the moves that led to his death, burial and resurrection.
Our King’s Gambit has won victory over sin and death!
