For all of this we are, as God said, "dust." We are a brief sound in the night. We play our little play, dance our little dance, utter the parable that we are. A puff and we are not seen anymore. Our body returns to the dust from which it came. Our spirit returns to our Creator. The world continues without us.

The thought is enough to make one hopelessly pessimistic.

Then into our world strides the Son of God. For some reason known only to God the Tree of Eternal Life stops at our door. He knocks and we let Him in.

Now what?

Christ asks us, "Will you die in Me that you might live forever?"

Will we die? Will we give to Him all we are and possess including our most precious relationships and treasures? What a question!

If we answer "yes" He begins to remove the things and relationships from our grasp, sometimes from our sight. All we have treasured begins to shake. We have to let go. We have to put all on the altar. Why? Because until the things that make up our life die in Christ and are raised in Christ they are temporary. Only that which has died in Christ and been raised in Christ is ours for eternity.

Some would say, "but suppose He does not give them back to us?" Yes, that is the problem. We have to trust that if something is removed from us permanently it would not bring us fullness of joy and is not worthy of the Kingdom.

This, of course, was the original temptation. Is God to be trusted?

The Lord has given us the drama of water baptism to show us the path of life. In water baptism we descend into the death of Christ on the cross. When we come out of the water we are saying we have died to the present creation and have been raised with Jesus Christ into new life, into the Kingdom of God, into the new heaven and earth reign of Christ, into the world without end.

No aspect of our salvation operates properly until we really and truly count that we have died with Christ and been raised with Christ.

If we save our life we will lose it for eternity. Each aspect of life we cling to is an idol, and Christ will permit no idols in His Kingdom. Whatever we cling to must be destroyed. If we refuse to give something up then we will lose part or all of our inheritance. We are warned of this several times in the New Testament.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. (Matthew 16:25—NIV)

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7,8—NIV)

To be continued.