Instinctively, we resist anything that threatens our security.  So, Jesus' statement that: people who ‘keep their lives with lose them, and those who lose their lives will keep them’ may seem very strange.  But think of a person with a life-threatening disease: the patients who submit to the authority of the doctor will save their lives, while those who pretend there is nothing wrong with them will lose theirs.  In the same way, people who keep control of their lives and refuse to accept Jesus’ authority over them … will be eternally lost.  But those who welcome King Jesus, like the penitent thief, will be with Him for ever (Luke 23:40-43).

In the same way that a weak and dying animal attracts carrion birds, Jesus said that people who choose to reject Him (however religious they may be) will be powerless to resist God's judgement at the Second Coming. Outwardly, a couple may seem nice enough, but if one is in Christ and the other is not, then one will be taken and the other left.  The same will apply to two people at work when Jesus Christ comes again (Matthew 24:40-41).  His return will not be just an interesting observation for those who believe, but will actively involve every single person who has ever lived; as those who have resisted Christ and His salvation are marked out for judgement (Revelation 1:7).

In the lifetime of Jesus' hearers, the horror of this judgement was demonstrated on a small scale when Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed by Roman forces under General Titus in AD70.  There was no longer any physical sanctuary for protection - all those who sought it were destroyed with it (Matthew 24:15-21).  But those whose hope was in Christ, were content that He was their Saviour for time and eternity, even though they were displaced from their homes and everything that was valuable to them.  Like faithful believers in the Old Testament, they were refugees in the world but safe in the presence of their Saviour (Hebrews 11:35-38).  That lifestyle flexibility should be normal for those who bow to Jesus Christ as their King.  The world is not their home and they are prepared to camp wherever the Lord leads them until they see Him face to face.

Believers in Jesus Christ need to take these verses seriously and get ready to move from earth to heaven.  We need to loosen the shackles which bind us to our worldly lifestyle so that we are ready for the Lord when He comes.  Until that time, we can take spiritual advantage of every change which disturbs our habits of life.  These events will teach us not to trust in uncertain riches (1 Timothy 6:17), our skill-base, social network, employment or marriage prospects.  Each circumstance will be sanctified as we let them teach us to prepare for heaven and trust the Lord to provide for us along the way. Those who trust in the Lord like that demonstrate that they already possess eternal life.  So let us live out what we believe; and pray that some of those who watch us will repent of their rebellion against Christ and be saved.