The cost of following Christ
1. Instead of loving myself most, I am willing to love Christ best and others more than myself.
This isn't talking about soft, sentimental emotion. Laying down my LIFE for others. Selfless sacrifice
What if the whole church learned to love Christ most, and others above themselves? It would be such a beautiful thing, and I doubt the world would be able to ignore it. The world tells us to love ourselves before we can love anyone. It practically screams it to us in magazines, commercials, even billboards. Now, the church is starting to take the same stance. How illogical is it to say you have to love yourself before you can love other people? If I had only enough food for one, and I ate it instead of giving it to the person next to me that needed the food just as badly, how is that loving them? The world lies. It isn't their fault! They believe the lies themselves. They are being deceived. Still, we have no reason to listen to their logic. Don't love yourself first. Pour everything you have into loving others. God will sustain you; God will fill your cup back up so you can keep pouring out.
2. Instead of being one of the crowd I am willing to be singled out, set apart from the gang.
Broad is the road to destruction, narrow is the path to life.
We can't fit in when we are called to be HOLY, as He is holy. Holy means set apart. The very DEFINITION means we are going to stand out from the world and the crowd. We are called to stand out as an example for others to follow, and yet we are hiding behind our hoods with our earphones in, hoping no one will see us. Hoping we look enough like the others that we won't call attention to ourselves and we can sneak on by. The people used by God stood out from the crowd. We cannot have both, we must choose one or the other.
3. Instead of insisting on my rights, I am willing to forego them in favor of others.
We need to take a backseat. This isn't easy, or natural.
It isn't about us. It isn't about our rights or what we deserve. A song I listen to has a line that says "If we fought for our rights, we'd be in Hell tonight." So instead of insisting on my rights (my own demise), I pray to give up what I "deserve" for other people. Give when it's not fair. Take the lower position, in everything.
4. Instead of being "boss" I am willing to be at the bottom of the heap.
Give everything to the Master. Be a servant.
Goes right along with point number 3. Take the lowest position. We can't be the boss of our life and have a Lord. It simply does not work that way. Voluntarily be the first sufferers. Someone once told me "You will know you are a servant when they treat you like one, and it doesn't bother you." That has always stuck with me. I'm not there, but I would like to be.
5. Instead of finding fault with life and always asking "Why?", I am willing to accept life with gratitude.
This is all life. Everything. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Be slow to forget blessings, and quick to forget misfortune.
Wow, how different our lives and attitudes would be if we were to learn how to remember blessings far after we have forgotten misfortunes. If we looked at all we had instead of all we don't. To go further, what if we left our misfortunes alone and instead of asking why, we simply responded with "Thy will be done." Be thankful in everything.
6. Instead of exercising and asserting my will, I learn to cooperate with His wishes and comply with His will.
When someone allows their will to be crossed out, then indeed the cross has been applied.
I am seeing a pattern here. One point leading into the next. Like Jesus we should simply respond with "Thy will be done." The cross is all about that. Leaving your life and will behind, and taking up God's. That is why we are to die DAILY and take up the cross. The cross is not a nice or beautiful thing. The cross bids all who take it to come and die. That includes leaving our will behind.
7. Instead of choosing my own way I am willing to coose to follow Christ's way: obey.
It means I just do what He asks me to do. Simple obedience.
There you have it. Simply obey. It may be challenging to execute, but the answer really is that simple.
