Live Not for Your Own Gain

 "People who are crucified with Christ have three distinct marks: 1. they are facing only one direction; 2. they can never turn back; and 3. they no longer have plans of their own."  -A.W Tozer

We hear a lot about self-interest, desires, man’s right to exist for his own sake. and even plain old-fashioned selfishness. Today's society seems more tilted toward "what's-in-it for-me?" than the other way. Is this what Jesus had in mind for us? Didn't he expect more? ...better?

It's a given that there will be those who are weak, and others strong in spiritual strength. Christ understands that about us. He also knows that we are a work in progress. But, there is one major thing he does expect from us all, as His children. We must agree not to live for ourselves (1 John 2:15).

Believe it or not, our main purpose here is not to live for our own gain, but to please God. This is true unveiled Chrisitanity, which makes Christ manifest in all of us. Yes, it may be true that we are all of varying levels of strengths, capabilities, and opinions; but we are all His. And as such, we should be contemplating, serving, and making ourselves acceptable to Christ.

The signifying feature of the true Christian, or what makes us stand out from the rest, is our intention to not live merely for ourselves (1 Peter 2:21). If there were a check-list for being a Christian, this would be up near the top. Sadly, there are many who do live purely for their own gratification (1 John 2:16). This clearly demonstrates a lack of grasping the power of the gospel (Matthew 16:24; Luke 9:23).

Contrary to what those who might think their lives are their own to do with whatever they please; we all live or die for God. Our lives are either spent for Him, or not. It's our choice; yours and mine. But our lives belong to Him, period! Think about this. No matter what course our lives take, everything intersects at God. Our lives all meet there. He is the center of it all.

There's a myth permeating our world that we can live life for and by ourselves. Nothing could be further from the truth. We live in a community; and we are to live for others despite what our culture and society may say. It doesn't matter if one is living or dying; is in this temporal world, or in the next; We belong to God (Romans 14:7),

Living for others isn't easy. That's one reason why Jesus came; to show us how it's done. We can't say that we don't know how, or need to have it explained to us. Jesus went above and beyond just teaching and preaching; He was crucified for us (1 John 3:16). There is no better demonstration of "living for others" than this. He not only lived for us; He died for us, too (Matthew 10:38).

Scripture: 1 John 3:18; 2 Chronicles 15:7; Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 5:13-15; Colossians 3:23

Prayer: Almighty and ever-living God, send your Spirit to make us strong in faith and active in good works. Amen

Have a blessed day!

Kylee