Me, Myself, and I

I like doing what I want to do, when I want to do it. I like spending my time in ways that I find personally pleasing. I enjoy using my money to buy things for myself. I do not like rules imposed on me. I dislike cleaning up messes made by others. Second place in line is not where I naturally choose to be.  Right about now, you are likely thinking: “Jerry is a selfish man!”  I confess that, by nature, I love me! (By the way, years of dealing with people makes me certain that I am not unique.)

This morning, I chose to live against my nature, with God’s help. I take very seriously the call of Jesus that challenges the bent of my sinful nature. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:34-37, NIV)  Jesus calls us to a cross-centered life. Die to yourself so that you might truly live in the Spirit. It sounds so noble, when put like that, doesn’t it?

Yet, a Cross-centered life is a tough sell in an age when Self is king and in a culture that holds personal happiness as the highest value. In order to keep people in our churches, we pastors are tempted to turn upside-down making the Gospel into a self-help project, emphasizing that Jesus will enrich our lives as we choose to live them, that He will make us more of ourselves. Jesus promised those who came and followed Him ‘life to the full’ but a deeper assessment of His words reveals that His promise has little to do with making us fatter, richer, more self-satisfied. He invites us to become people full of the Spirit, abundant in love, peace, joy, patience, and endurance.  

Dying to Self, practicing humility, and becoming a servant are messages mostly unheard. Christians who willingly choose to endure a difficult place in the call of God, who stick with a hard assignment, who give up personal pleasures to follow the way of the Spirit are often publicly lauded for their ‘idealism,’ but secretly pitied for their ‘silly religion.’

The primary reason most Christians refuse their cross is that they have no real sense of eternity. Many are totally immersed in the present, creatures of here and now. Even St. Paul admits that we cannot live an authentic Christian life without the sure hope of our Resurrection and Heavenly home. Why give up pursuit of the best life (defined by creating pleasure) if there is no Heaven, no reward? There are few rewards in the present for those who really give up themselves to serve God and others!  It’s a little like being a great Mom. The best Moms care diligently for their families in such a way that their efforts are just taken for granted, missed only if Mom goes AWOL.

Are you claiming to follow Christ, but reserving great chunks of your time to do what you want to do?

Are you hoping for a Heavenly home, but ignoring the reality of Eternity in the present?

Consider the claims of Christ and the call to a Cross-centered life.  Go to Christ and "give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him." (Romans 12:1, NLT)

Here’s a word from the Word, both challenging and filled with hope. May it be a life-guiding passage for us all. “Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified. Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.”  - The Message - Galatians 5:24-25)