We have a lot of things we want to do, ought to do, and that we need to do, but what would it be like to live primarily from what we “must” do? Look how Jesus lived by an “I Must” plan. “He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and after three days rise again.” (Mark 8:31) Jesus was clear about His “I Must” plan. And He give us the framework to develop our “I Must” plan. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34)
Unfortunately, the American dream of retirement is what drives most people’s plan for life in America whether they know if or not. It is actually the opposite of what Jesus calls us to. It is the ultimate play it safe. It is the ultimate in being ashamed of Jesus and denying His life and the gospel. It is trying to save life, but losing it. We don’t need a retirement plan, we need a life plan, an “I Must” plan. A retirement plan is built around the attempt to save your life, an “I Must” plan is built around losing your life for Jesus and the gospel. We need to re-think retirement. It is how we live our years that matters not how many years we live. So, how do we discover our personal “I Must” plan?
First, we must make sense of life and discover that Jesus’ life makes beautiful sense of our life. It comes down to faith, that is believing in Jesus and trusting Him to make sense of our life. Before Jesus gave the disciples the framework for an “I Must” plan in Mark 8:34 He asked them a question that we all must answer, “Who do you say I am?” (Mark 8:29) Discovering our “I Must” plan begins with discovering who Jesus is and being willing to trust Him and wait on Him to reveal our new life to us.
Secondly, we must make sense of our cross by discovering that His Cross makes beautiful sense of our cross. Many believers are confused about what Jesus means when He tells us to take up “our” cross and follow Him. It is not His cross, for there is only one of those, it is “our” cross. Carrying our cross does not mean that we patiently endure the aches and pains of life. Carrying our cross is living the life and purpose God has for us. We cannot deny self and sin without its grip over us being broken. And we cannot understand what our cross is until we have come into relationship with Jesus and learned to deny self. At the cross Jesus destroyed the power of sin, making it possible to discover our new life and purpose in Him.
Thirdly, we must make sense of death by discovering that His resurrection makes beautiful sense of our death. Are you at peace with death? We cannot really live and move beyond playing it safe without the power of death and the fear of death being defeated. We cannot rest and be assured of God’s safety if we are resting in our safety and playing it safe. Being ready for death is not so much a matter of getting your house in order as it should be about living out God’s purpose with confidence.
We waste life when we don’t live from what I must do? Jesus calls us to a compelled life –living not from I need to, I ought to or I need to, but from I Must Do!
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