he who seeks to save his soul-life will destroy away herself, but whoever will destroy away the soul-life of himself for the sake of myself and of the gospel, he will save herself.
This is the literal of Mark 8:35, Mat. 16:25, Luk. 17:33.
So much left out of translation! Translations that give “loses his life” are quite the misnomer and make the reader think that it pertains to his life being in some sense “taken from” him. But the text says he must destroy away himself, in order to save herself—the Breath of Life.
The words of Christ are: “Through this one, the father agape-loves myself, because myself is setting the Soul-life of myself, so that I might again take hold of herself.” John 10:17.