Have you ever wondered what Jesus meant when he said “‘Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.'” (Matt 10:39)?

Legend has it that a man was lost in the desert, just dying for a drink of water. He stumbled upon an old shack – a ramshackled, windowless, roofless, weatherbeaten old shack. He looked about this place and found a little shade from the heat of the desert sun. As he glanced around he saw a pump about fifteen feet away – an old, rusty water pump. He stumbled over to it, grabbed the handle and began to pump up and down, up and down. Nothing came out.

Disappointed, he staggered back. He noticed off to the side an old jug. He looked at it, wiped away the dirt and dust, and read a message that said, “You have to prime the pump with all the water in this jug, my friend. P.S.: Be sure you fill the jug again before you leave.”

He popped the cork out of the jug and sure enough, it was almost full of water! Suddenly, he was faced with a decision. If he drank the water, he could live. Ah, but if he poured all the water in the old rusty pump, maybe it would yield fresh, cool water from down deep in the well, all the water he wanted.

He studied the possibility of both option. What should he do, pour it into the old and take a chance on fresh, cool water or drink what was in the old jug and ignore its message? Should he waste all the water on the hopes of those flimsy instructions written, no telling how long ago?

Reluctantly he poured all the water into the pump. Then he grabbed the handle and began to pump, squeak, squeak, squeak. Still nothing came out! Squeak, squeak, squeak. A little bit began to dribble out, then a small stream, and finally it gushed! To his relief fresh, cool water poured out of the rusty pump. Eagerly, he filled the jug and drank from it. He filled it another time and once again drank its refreshing contents.

Then he filled the jug for the next traveler. He filled it to the top, popped the cork back on, and added this little not: “Believe me, it really works. You have to give it all away before you can get anything back.”

- Charles R. Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity (quoted in Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations and Quotes [Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1998] p. 197)

What are you hanging on to? Do you have a death-grip on a particular possession, idea, relationship, job or position? Are you reluctant to give stuff over to God because you are afraid you will be left without? Perhaps you are in a relationship with someone, and you feel insecure when they spend time with other people. Or maybe you have a plan for your life and are unwilling to accept anything that doesn’t fit in.

Let me tell you, unless you are willing to give those things and those relationships over to God, you will ultimately lose them. If you do entrust them to his care, however, he will multiply them amazingly! By trying to hold on to what we have, we risk everything. But if we surrender all in accordance with God’s instruction and will, we will receive all that we ever need… and more!