To Die For

Charlene and I were at a gathering with some family and friends recently, there was one person there who was a good story teller about their life and family and they used this phrase several times, “to die for” about a wide variety of things. Later Charlene and I commented to each other how that statement did not seem correct for the things they were talking about. About the second time they said it I thought that there was only one thing “to die for” and that was eternal life with Jesus.

Jesus said that if we wanted to live we had to die to ourself but that if we sought our own life we would lose it, or die. So how do we die to live eternally? Jesus taught that if we surrendered our life to our Heavenly Father through Him we would have to stop living for ourself and live for His Kingdom. He said that we had to seek His Kingdom first and then all of our needs would be met, therefore we should not worry about such things as clothing and shelter but about doing what GOD called us to do in His Kingdom here on the earth.

Eternal life is not about someday when we die of going to Heaven to be with GOD. Eternity starts the moment we are conceived in our mother’s womb. The Bible tells us that GOD forms us as a spirit, soul and body and that He places a call in our life for His Kingdom. His Kingdom is all of creation; the heavens, the seas and the earth; the heavens are the sky above, the spiritual realm and GOD’s dwelling place. That means that when we realize that GOD does not want us to go to hell but He does want us to be with Him that we must make a decision to surrender our life to Him or live it for ourself.

If you are a Christian you should know this and be familiar with the Bible enough to know how to search these things out. If you are not a Christian or for some reason are not familiar with the Bible then I recommend that you read the following 6 books of the Bible to see what it says. Start with John then Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts and then Romans. Once you are familiar with the teachings of these books you can read any book of the Bible with understanding. Read a translation that is easy for you to read, there are many good English translations.

A couple of things you should know about reading the Bible. The books of the Bible were not written with chapter and verse divisions and sometimes those breakup a thought or lesson, so read several chapters at a time so that you get the continuity of events or lessons. Read slowly and ask yourself questions about what you are reading. Use reference materials to help you understand, such as a concordance and/or Bible dictionary. The most important thing to do while reading the Bible is to ask GOD to help you understand what you are reading and how it applies to your life; listen as you read and ask, He will speak to your heart and mind.