Reflection for Wednesday August 10, Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr; John 12:24-26

Gospel: John 12:24-26

Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.”

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Reflection:

Do you love your life in this world?

Jesus gives us today a contradictory statement by saying: “Whoever loves his life loses it and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” How could this be?

The simple answer to this paradox is this: We love our life if we love the trappings of this world such as wealth, power and other worldly possession. It also includes other self-centered attitudes such as greed, lust, arrogance, egotism to name a few. We will certainly lose our life if we could identify to any of these characteristics.

We hate our life in this world but preserve it for eternal life if we have Christ like behaviors such as: Humility, Selflessness, Prayerfulness, Kind heartedness, Mercy, Forgiveness, Compassion and many more Christ like virtues.

Therefore we are given two choices: To love our life in this world or two hate it. Surely there would be those who will choose to love their life in this world but for what price? 

The problem of loving our present life for the sake of this world is we are slowly but surely closing the door for Jesus to enter our life. Yet we open it widely for the Devil to enter and eventually drive our life.

Discover the true meaning of life by serving Christ or by loving Him. Discover the true meaning of life by denying yourself of the many useless and sinful excesses of this world.

Have you already discovered the true meaning of life – Marino J. Dasmarinas