Sunday, January 20, 2013

Out with “Me! Me! Me!” (In with Others)

Along the way I’ve discovered that it’s not all about me, it’s all about Jesus and His good work in me.

Sadly, the world (who is ruled by the father of lies) encourages me to make myself happy, nonchalantly disregarding those I might hurt in my quest for self-gratification. But God calls me to help those in need; He assures me that He will satisfy all my needs. And who knows better than God what I need? Who is better equipped than God to satisfy my every need?

In studying the life of Christ, I’m compelled to acknowledge that He lived fully focused on others; in fact, Jesus was a serious radical. With His actions, He said, “You, my lost sheep, are at the very top of my priority list.” Instead of constantly worrying about His own physical needs, Jesus spent His time concerned with the needs of His creations, while fully relying on His Father to fulfill His own personal needs. How much more then should I, as His creation, follow Christ’s perfect example, allowing God to take care of all my needs so I can focus my precious time on helping those around me?

The only way for me to break away from this destructive pattern of self-focus, of me-first thinking, is to fully submit—heart, body, soul, mind, money, relationships,…in short, everything—to God. But, it’s so easy to slip back into the ‘me mode’ enthusiastically marketed by the world around me; however, living for God and others—living outward instead of inward—has eternal rewards. And I’ve discovered that when I’m in full submission to God, my life is full and overflowing with God’s abundant blessings.

So join me as I stop living the selfish, self-centered life held up by this sinful world as the ideal and, instead, follow in the footsteps of Christ: Fully surrendered to God and allowing His love to freely flow through me to those around me.

Final Thought: Why do I spend so much time worrying about me when God has promised to take care of all my needs? And God is never slack concerning His promises.

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