The Three Major Questions in Life
(Matthew 16:24)

We live like strangers who live temporarily in the Earth. The rich, the poor, the privileged, or the unprivileged will die and no one avoids death. After death, there is judgment. So we should know where we came from, why we live, and where we will go. On this season of Christmas, we should look to Jesus, thinking the meaning of our life once again. Today’s scripture reading throws three questions to us.

1. What is the purpose of your life?
We should put the purpose of our life on Jesus, who is the hope of all human being. Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone would come after me” (Mt. 16:24a). We should follow His way, His work, and His life as what he had lived. Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. What do you follow? Do you follow reputation of the world? Do you follow money? Or do you follow powers of the world?

2. Who are you?
We should always ask ourselves about who we are. We are children of God who are blessed a lot. To live as children of God, we should deny ourselves confessing that we are nothing and Jesus is the all. Jesus said to His disciples, “he must deny himself” (Mt. 16:24b). It means we should accept God’s will not following our will. We should nail our old self and accept Jesus as the master of our life. How about us now? Do you accept Jesus as the master of your life and follow the will of God?

3. What kind of life do you live now?
We should look back of our life in terms of what kind of life we are living now. Jesus said to His disciples, “[he must] take up his cross and follow me” (Mt. 16:24c). To take up the cross means that we should take difficulties and sacrifices for Jesus when we follow Jesus. We should have sacrifice and devotion in order to cope with the mission given by the Lord in following the steps of Jesus. What kind of life do we live now? Don’t you avoid the ways of sacrifice and devotion by only fixing your eyes on the blessings and the glory of the Lord?