leave your selfish ways

We have been spending the last several weeks at The Community in our 40 Days of Love talking through what 1 Corinthians 13 says about love.  How we measure up and how we apply OR NOT apply what God says will mark our lives one way or another with God's love.

Let's revisit why we are here and why we follow Jesus.  Why does The Community even exist.  Why do we care about Jesus.  One of the first things we said: It is not about us!  We've said it a 100 times.  We have to say it 1,000,000 more.  All of this is about GOD.  Nothing more and nothing less.

1 Corinthians 13:5 (NASB) --- (love) it does not seek its own…

There you find Jesus. Why did he allow Himself to die?  What was the point to His suffering?  Why was he always questioning the normal and the religious people?  There was a reason.

It was because they were making it all about the wrong the thing.  We have that tendency.  Do you hear me?  We often do that.  And we will do that IF WE DON'T KEEP OUR EYES on Jesus!

Philippians 2:1-2 (MSG) --- If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends.

I have.  I have gotten so much out of following Jesus that I am over flowing.  He has made a difference in my life.  That makes me want to be at peace and even to work with and serve other people.  One of the biggest pieces of the puzzle for me here is the fact that we humans are selfish.  We want to do our own thing.  Listen to what Jesus said about that fact:

Mark 8:34 (NLT) --- Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me."

"Turn from your selfish ways" is huge.  We have to admit we are selfish.  What keeps us from thinking like Jesus thinks?  When we come to the cross, the place Jesus died and died for us, we have to leave our selfish ways behind.

Philippians 2:5-11 (MSG) --- Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion. Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.

I cannot leave this portion of that passage ... Jesus was obedient to His father even to the point of death and that obedience honored God.  Wait!  Our obedience honors God.  Our selfishness doesn't honor God.  Do you get that?

It is time to leave our selfish ways behind and come back to the cross.  I want to honor Him.  How about you?