Luke 9:23-25

"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?"
Luke 9:23-25


Interesting distinctions here... denying yourself and losing your life are not the same as losing yourself. :)  Christ says in the first verse that if we want to follow him, that we need to 1. deny ourselves... presumably meaning denying ourselves "of all ungodliness" as it says elsewhere in the scriptures... and perhaps also, denying ourselves in that we aren't seeking our own limited visions anymore, but we realize that God can help us to be better than we could ever be alone...
Then 2. take up our crosses daily... meaning that salvation requires effort.  Life is a test, and we need to study. :)  Of course God wants us to laugh and enjoy our lives... but we can't stop working on our relationship with him... God isn't just some friend that we send a Christmas card once a year... he's more like your best friend who you know you can drop in on anytime, and who you call when anything cool happens... or like I imagine a good marriage would be... you just can't just go a few days without talking, or you know something is wrong.  A relationship with God requires commitment and effort, no coasting allowed. :) taking up your cross isn't easy, and there are a lot of things that we suffer in this life... but because of our commitment to God, we accept the burdens, and he is there with us through the good *and* the bad.
And then 3. follow him.  he knows where we're going, we don't.  people scorn "blind obedience" ... and indeed it should be scorned if we can see...  we should look for the truth, and then follow it.  but sometimes we *are* blind, and we don't have any idea of the way.  Instead of pretending we can see in those cases, it is good to follow Christ, and let him lead us out of the darkness until we can see again.
so, denying ourselves isn't losing ourselves... and then, (there is a JST for verses 24-25 if you want to look it up) I think it is interesting that our lives are not ourselves either.  if you are worried too much about your earthly life... focusing only on what goes on within the walls of the testing center of life... then you'll eventually, when the test is over, lose everything that matters to you.  the test is not all... and if we are willing to let go of the test and face life outside the testing center, then we will find what true life and happiness is.
then, last verse... it talks about what losing yourself really is... it's thinking that the test is everything, it's *not* denying ourselves, because we have that perspective.  If we think that the test is everything, then why pass it... why even pick up the pencil if there is nothing after?  So, we won't deny ourselves the snacks in our backpacks... or maybe we'll get together with some other students and ransack the vending machines... whatever.   doesn't matter if there isn't anything outside those walls.  so, if we accept the memory loss that allows us to take the test, and assume that the walls define our existence, then we lose who we were before... and who we have a chance to be now... our potential.  we lose it... or we get thrown out of the testing center before we have a chance to pass, and that never reflects favorable on the final grade.