I've always heard it said that every Christian is supposed to give his or her life for Christ.

I haven't heard anyone say Christians are supposed to give their life for the sake of the Gospel.

That is, until yesterday when I read Mark 8:34b-35.

"Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it."

To save my life, I have to lose it for the sake of Christ AND the Gospel. The two go hand in hand. They cannot be separated.

You can't have the Gospel without Christ, and you cannot have Christ without the Gospel.

So based on this verse, it's a bit ridiculous to think anyone can be in Christ and not be completely about what the Gospel is!

That leaves me with a very tough question: If those who are in Christ are about the Gospel, and if I'm not about the Gospel, then am I truly in Christ?

God, move in my heart to be about the Gospel!

@jacobriggs