Jesus taught that:
1) If you want to be first, you must put yourself last.
2) That when we humble ourselves, God will lift us up.
3) If we want to receive, we must learn to give.
4) If we want to lead, we must learn to follow and serve.
5) If we want to save our life, we must lose it for His sake.
And most importantly:
6) Love others as you love yourself (we must love ourselves 1st)
These principles seem to be quite opposite from what the world teaches us, what I’ve seen on TV, and from the reality of what most of us grew up in. When I look back at my life, I realize how much of it was spent building and customizing my own personal world. Trying to arrange things exactly how I wanted them to be and trying to be somebody I wasn’t.
I now realize how little I truly knew myself. I thought I knew what I wanted and needed and spent MUCH time trying to create and control my life. This is probably why I spent so much time in the gym (trying to improve my appearance), spent hours on my career (desiring power), in the bar scene (seeking acceptance), and even on MATCH.COM (looking for “love�). There seemed to be a giant hole in my life that I was trying to fill and it’s not that any of the above items are necessarily bad, but I really just didn’t know who I was and was trying to figure this out in the wrong places.
(Q-Squad Men at the Elephant Park)
While I wouldn’t say that my life is easier today, I would say that it is fulfilling and I feel much more alive as I surrender more and more of my desires; replacing them with the desires of Jesus. Honestly, when I first started to believe in Jesus, I didn’t even think it would last. I thought it might be another fad in my life (and believe me, I’ve had many). But as I began to read God’s word and actually do what it said, little by little, my life started to change, for the better, and my faith grew.
I started writing this blog, without a real plan or purpose, willing to be vulnerable even if this helps just one person. I know what life is like apart from Jesus, which is why I wanted to share this thought. Jesus invites all of us into relationship with Himself, regardless of any unbelief you have or hurt/anger you may have from the church or any Christians you may have met.
Jesus is GOOD and said, “ I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.� This is what Jesus offers, if you follow Him…
With as much love as I can give,
Andrew
