Luke 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

Do not even such things as are most bitter to the flesh, tend to awaken Christians to faith and prayer, to a sight of the emptiness of this world, and the fadingness of the best it yields? – Sensible Counsel or Advice to Suffers – John Bunyan

We would a like to have a perfect life.  There are always regrets in life.  Often we live in a fantasy world of “if only.”  That is not the way life happens however.  There are troubles and trials.  There are a bad mistakes.  There are good things.  The “wishful life” is one of the lives the Lord asks us to lose or give up.  You cannot save this life or make it better.  It is best to just give the whole thing over to the Lord and to be content with the life the Lord has given you.  You cannot preserve this life.  Anything you lose in this world will more than be made up for in the next.  You need to live in light of eternity, not in light of today.

The problem is when we seek to save this life or make the best of it.  When we focus on trying to just please ourself and be happy in this life, we soon lose focus on the Lord.  When we just give this life over to the Lord and let him make the decisions for us, we will preserve life in eternity.  It seems like a pretty good exchange to give up 70 or 80 years on this earth for an eternity with Jesus Christ.  Dr. Peter S. Ruckman passed away last week.  He was a great man of God who saw the value of giving up this life and preserving it for all eternity.  He gave up 60 to 70 years of his life to serve the Lord for a “well done thou good and faithful servant.”

So are you trying to make a perfect life on this earth or are you going to go with what the Lord has given you?  We need to just lose what we think we need and let the Lord give us what he sees fit.  The Bible is going to cause you to make some uncomfortable choices in life that will cost you money, lands, family, friends, etc.  Can you give those up so you can preserve your eternal life?  I hope so.  It is the best exchange you could ever make.