John 12.25 promises, those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.

Mohammad twisted this promise from God reinterpreting it to mean that his followers whose suicide kills others will automatically qualify for heaven. What kind of a god would make this offer? Only one whose true mission is to steal, kill and destroy. The One True God, Jesus, as God in man, requires He be loved first and foremost, thus the need to lay down our lives before Him. The application of this life laid down is by placing other people above ourselves in loving, giving and serving: not killing.

The God first life will be in conflict with the me first life. This is because He commands I love my neighbor as myself.

What do I want? Preferential treatment. To be first in line. To be served rather than to serve. To receive rather than give. To be praised rather than praise. The list goes on. If I love God first and myself second, like Jesus modeled for us, I will do those things I want for myself to others placing myself second, living as a servant to humanity.

This service however has a purpose, not the earning of so many merits so that I earn heaven like every other religion attempts to accumulate. The One True God, Jesus, gives heaven as a gift to those who love Him more than themselves.

The life surrendered to God, focused on serving humanity, is to be done for God to be seen, felt and heard by a humanity that doubts and is confused by Who God is and what He is like. Christians live a servant and sacrificial life to honor God before men and to draw men to the goodness of the One True God.

God plans to reward and recognize those servants of His who lived such a life, the greatest of Whom is Jesus, the God-Man, Who has already been seated on the throne as King of kings and Lord of lords. This Jesus will be recognized and worshiped by all humanity on that day when He returns to reclaim His people.

When Jesus welcomes all those who lived as He lived they will receive His reward beginning with His praise, ‘well done good and faithful servants, enter into the joy of your Master.’