Reading that first statement might have made you twitch. Here’s the next one :
Christ taught me to fail successfully.
Read this passage with me.
For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
John 10:17-18 ESV
Christ says the Father loves Him because He lays down His life. We know how unfair the events were that lead up to the point of the crucifiction.Also worth noting is that Christ knew He has the power to lay it down(think about that) and also the power to take it back up.
Many of us have only received a gospel where we win, get breakthroughs and blessings. We teach our kids the same, there is no losing, saying something is hard or even uttering anything negative is a big no no. The problem with this is that we don’t learn how to actually deal with situations and circumstances that are hard or even unfair at times via the faith God works through us.
Where should the focus be? God, right? Yes, not on our victory. Because it is His victory, His blessing, His finished works working through us.
If we focus on OUR victory we are trying to achieve, selfishness and the flesh can take control there and by partnering with that, we will manipulate and trample other people around us for the sake of our victory.
Teaching our kids what they carry is far more powerful through love than cheering them on to feel affirmed only because the got what they wanted or attained what you as parent wanted for them. You know why so many parents refuse to have their kids lose at something? Because the parents don’t really know who they are. You have to know Who you carry before you realize you have the power to lay yourself down.
Maybe some child suicides could be prevented if kids knew how to lose successfully. Because then they will know, it is not about just getting what they want, but that their life and destiny is much bigger than what they are facing right now.
The ultimate is when God gets what He wants, because His nature is love. He wants to pick us up and comfort us, heal us, free us and give us hope. But we have to partner with Him to receive that.
We have His incorruptible seed in us if we have received Him, therefore we have the ability to overcome. So we will through His strength. But if we have learned to lose successfully, then winning also loses the buzz we get. Instead our heart will be filled with thankfulness for the faithfulness of God through our life.
Losing successfully is knowing inside you, you have the ability through Christ to do anything but using the ability to serve, lay ourselves down for the sake of love, still fully knowing He will lift our heads, comfort and promote.
It’s about His agenda. If we seek to accomplish our own in His name then we will wrap religious language around our agenda and manipulate people into our mission(the thing some of us need healing from since others have done this to us).
You can win, have breakthroughs and be blessed, but only because you already are in Christ. The kingdom is within you, don’t seek it out there, don’t just seek it with outer observance. This will make seeking the kingdom first make more sense before all these things will be added unto you.
It is how the kingdom works –
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 16:25 ESV
