Very Unexpected . . .
In the heat of summer, while traveling down South, my wife and I stopped for ice cream. On the wall behind the counter we saw a sign reading, " No Snowmobiling." The humor worked because it was so unexpected.
Sometimes, saying the unexpected has the most effect. Think of this in regard to a statement by Jesus: "Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:39). In a kingdom where the King is a servant, losing your life becomes the only way to find it. This is an amazing message to a world focused on self-promotion and self-protection.
In a practical sense, how can we "lose our life"? The answer is summed up in the word sacrifice. When we sacrifice, we place into practice Jesus's way of living. Instead of grasping for our own wants and needs, we esteem the needs and well-being of others.
Jesus not only taught about sacrifice but He also lived it by giving Himself for us. The very death of Jesus on the cross became the ultimate expression of the heart of the King who lived up to His own words: "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).