A SELFLESS LIFE

It was written concerning Jesus Christ, that He was God, yet he humbled Himself and became a man, then humbled Himself even more and became a servant to all.

Following this type of becoming a selfless person is one of my goals in my life.  I'm a work in progress; and I know I will never become what I know I should be....to be exactly like Jesus.

But He left us an example of what a mere man may become and since we all have free will, it is possible to continue to press toward that goal of becoming a selfless person.

In my younger years I know can see that I have been a selfish person.  I pushed ahead with all my might to attain a college degree, at the expense of leaving my family alone a lot.  I had placed my own wishes ahead of my family's wishes, to spend more time with them.  That was being selfish on my part.

If one would learn how to be a selfless person; no reputation to worry about, not important to be first in line, nor to become upset when you fail, and everyone laughs at you.  Longing to be free, it is easy part, staying free is where a person craves to just hear someone say your name.

Countless humans have walked all their lives, never dreamed that there would be any other way.  In fact, they enjoyed each and every step they took, taking in the smells, sounds, and feeling the dirt between each toe.

Jesus must have known all those emotions; and still He continued to draw closer to His Father, knowing that almost everyone would betray Him...He stumbled, rose up again, and with a deeper determination, picked up His cross that would lead up a lonely hill, and there He would be nailed to His cross between two others who were both there to die for the crimes they had committed.

Saint Augustine wrote concerning temptation:  "What do I do with all my temptations?  I merely give in to them...because once I exhaust myself in the depth of each one of them, then they loss their power over me".  This seems, on the surface, to live in sin that grace should become cheap to us, but it's the other way around, Saint Augustine believed that there is no limit to God's grace and mercy.  He threw himself completely upon God's endless grace and mercy, and during part of remaining life, he wrote such moving experiences he had, to make him one of the best writers in all of Christianity.

We humans have a sense of self-awareness.  We can imagine what it could mean to be a selfless person.  Our egos have a built-in problem, they want self to be king of all we are;  Paul wrote concerning his own ego, and in his letter to the Galatians he wrote, "My ego is crucified with Christ, nevertheless, it still lives, it is now only the Spirit of Christ which dwells within me, and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by having faith in His faithfulness for me..."

I often have doubts about my faith, but a Christian friend I have, once said to me, "John, I think that doubts are part of our faith, having doubts are just normal for us who live by faith..."  Now that made a lot of sense to me, then I could accept my own misgivings about faith.  After all, those who had faith in God, had terrible times with their unbelief.  Abraham going down into Egypt told his wife Sarah, "Sarah, when we are down in Egypt, they will see how beautiful you are, tell them that you are my sister, that way the ruler will not think you are my wife, and he will take you and marry him.."  And that did happen, until one day the ruler found out that Abraham had lied to him about his wife, and so he sent Abraham, Sarah, all the herds of animals out of Egypt and loaded them down with gold, silver, servants and greater wealth than what they had when they went down into Egypt.

It was then that Abraham knew, that he was not a great man of faith, but God had made him a man of faith.  We can only do just so much for ourselves, God, by His Holy Spirit has the power to renew us, and make us more into the image of The Son of God.

This journey of living a selfless life, is not a destination, it is a process, and that will continue in us until we see Him face to face.  To God be all the glory, His hope is in His grace and mercy for everyone of us.  Amen, and amen.

The ego is a part of each one of us that craves to be noticed, applauded and desires are almost unlimited in scope.  It is the basis of all of our pride, and given free rein, it's never satisfied.  It is an addiction of the highest order, and it is the cause of all the wars and contests of evil against good.

If we think of the darkness, it is empty and cold, unable to see anything, it gropes around trying to find a way of escape.  The only way to escape darkness is to introduce a little light, and darkness leaves faster than the speed of light.

Selfless Life, a place of safety, of compassion for others, of being able to feel the deepest emotions of those around us. 
When I think about what heaven is like, it must be a place of selfless ones, who enjoy the freedom from all their pride.

How did we obtain the selfless life?  "Except a kernel of wheat fall into the ground and die, it can not live.  The miracle of new life pushing up through the soil, is what happens when self dies and we are transformed into the image of The Son of God, forever free from that bondage of living only for ourselves.

So here's to that great expectation, to hold high the highest standard of all...the purity of soul, the beauty of God's love expressed in mere human beings...Oh, the wonder of it all!  Blessings to all who read these words, receive them now and begin your own journey to a selfless life.