Beautifully Selfless

Beautifully selfless is the main theme of this blog. Being selfless completely for Jesus Christ. Why? Because He gave himself up for me, He died for me, and now it's my turn to live for Him. 

Dying to self is probably one of the hardest things any of us could do. It goes against every part of our hearts and minds, which is telling us to do the opposite. It's letting go of all we ever wanted, of all we ever dreamed for. It's letting go of all that our heart cries out for and rather, crying out to God for what HE wants. 

My heart aches in certain places. Places that I have yet to completely die to self. I bet you know what I mean. Sometimes it's hard to understand why we must do this. Let's see what God's word says....

Galatians 2:20

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

This verse describes the exact truth of how we must be. When we come to know Christ, we are saying "Yes Jesus, I am giving up myself to You. It is no longer I that lives, but I am dying to my sinful nature, to my selfish wants, and living for Your glory and Your will." Now, we can't always be this way, simply because we are bound to stumble at times. But, ultimately, when Jesus comes into our lives, we are commanded and called to release all that we are to Him.

Sometimes we think it would just be much easier to have what we want and NOT die to self. And hey, it IS easy! But is that really the life we're called to live? 

One thing I've learned is that being a follower of Jesus means having a life of sacrifice. 

I can tell you, 100% assurance and in complete honesty, it is worth it.

Yes, it is ridiculously hard. It's a constant battle.

But it is so worth it. Jesus is worth it!

I may try to plan the steps I will take or the things I want to do. But do I have any assurance or certainty of those working out? No.

With Jesus, I may not have any planned steps, truthfully, I may actually have no idea where I am going. I may have no certain direction. But, what I do know, is that Jesus knows where I am going. He has planned steps, he has my direction. While I may have to rely completely on Him with all the faith and trust in me, I also can know that Jesus is doing something amazing, something I cannot fully see. And the best part is, I do have assurance and I do know that the way I'm headed is one that is blessed with joy and meaning. One that is full of surprises... things I could have never dreamed of! 

What could be of any greater worth than dying to self and living for Jesus?

Luke 9: 23-25

"Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?"