Selfless Living

A few days ago I was talking with someone who is in the hospital.  He is facing some pretty serious health challenges and it caused him to re-evaluate a few things in his life. 

At one point he was very moved as he tried to express what was on his heart--and as tears welled up in his eyes he said that he so badly wants to live selflessly--to live in a way that is more concerned about others and less concerned about himself.

It made me think. .. .what if we all had this deep-seated desire to live for other's well-being more than for our own?  How would we spend our time?  How would we arrange our calendars?  How would our attitudes change?  And most of all. . .

Would this be a better reflection of Jesus?

Selfishness can be such an ugly thing--it makes a person look small and petty.  And one of the most damaging things about selfishness is that it is blinding--we eventually lose the ability to sense that we are being selfish the more we live in it.  In fact, we become deceived and begin to think we are totally justified in our complaint or desire to fulfill personal agendas.

Jesus lived a different way.

In Matthew 20:24-28 He says:  "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Jesus came to serve.  To be selfless.  His greatest desire was to live with absolute obedience in doing exactly what His Heavenly Father wanted Him to do.  This desire was so strong in Him that He found great joy in serving.  His first concern was not what people thought, but what His Father thought; His actions were not dictated by peer pressure or even from His own leadings, but were totally in dependence on His Father for everything.  He was concerned for the well-being of others and that is how He lived.

I believe that Jesus wants this to be true for His Church too.  He wants us to live with our eyes focused on the agenda of our Heavenly Father.  He wants us to follow His own example of how He lived and encourage others to do the same.  True, this gets messy when this hits up against our actual desires, because we still wrestle with that old nemesis sin that tempts us to live for ourselves and not selflessly.

I want to be free to live and love the way Jesus did.  I want to be able to handle the ugliness of self-centeredness when I run into it and respond in the strength and love of heaven.  I want to facilitate the overcoming of this struggle in the power of the Holy Spirit and see beauty emerge---but sometimes about all one can see is the struggle. . . .

I saw my friend struggling with this in his hospital bed.  The struggle was real, to be sure, but the beauty that I saw was not that the struggle was over, but that there was a humble heart genuinely desiring to be selfless.

Maybe that's all I can offer to Jesus some days--a desire for selflessness, but mixed in with all the struggle and ugliness that goes along with it.  Maybe that's the case for you too.  All I know is that Jesus is always ready and willing to receive a willing heart and to bring encouragement and strength that really does make a difference.

To God be the Glory. . . .
BT