UNDERSTANDABLY SELFISH
His purpose in dying for all was that men, while still in life, should cease to live for themselves, and should live for him who for their sake died and was raised to life. 2 Cor. 5:15, N.E.B.
Imagine that you have not had anything to drink for more than a day. A hot day, at that. Your mouth feels like it is full of cotton. How would you feel if I were to say to you, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself for being so thirsty"?
Or what if you had been cut off from all of your close friends for some length of time, isolated from all companionship of the heart and meaningful conversation, and I were to say, "You really shouldn't be so lonesome; that's very immature"?
You would wonder about my putting a negative judgment on what seems such an understandable feeling of need or desire. In the same vein, sense yourself as being cut off from the great Lover of your soul, distant from the One who created you for the high purpose of enjoying fellowship with Himself. Feel the consequences of being alienated from Him who is the center of your being, the focus of your living, the source of life itself. How would this affect you? Would it leave you groping in fearful confusion, wondering about your whole reason for living, and the possibility of a future?
What if I were again to accost you: "You really shouldn't be so selfish, so preoccupied with yourself and your problems. You ought to be completely unselfish"?
We need to recognize that what we often think of as selfishness is not the result of a deliberate, perverse choice. Rather, it is the inevitable result of being out of relationship with our Father. Conversely, the problem cannot be solved by a simple choice to become unselfish. If it is caused by being alienated, it can be cured only by being reconciled.
Sometimes we feel guilty for coming to Christ out of selfish motives. But the facts are that we have no choice, because that's exactly how sin has damaged us. We are guilty and long to be forgiven. We are lonesome and long to be loved. We are confused and need to be guided. We are hurting and need to be healed. Jesus' promise is that He can meet every last one of those needs so fully that we need live no longer for ourselves, but for Him.
His purpose in dying for all was that men, while still in life, should cease to live for themselves, and should live for him who for their sake died and was raised to life. 2 Cor. 5:15, N.E.B.
Imagine that you have not had anything to drink for more than a day. A hot day, at that. Your mouth feels like it is full of cotton. How would you feel if I were to say to you, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself for being so thirsty"?
Or what if you had been cut off from all of your close friends for some length of time, isolated from all companionship of the heart and meaningful conversation, and I were to say, "You really shouldn't be so lonesome; that's very immature"?
You would wonder about my putting a negative judgment on what seems such an understandable feeling of need or desire. In the same vein, sense yourself as being cut off from the great Lover of your soul, distant from the One who created you for the high purpose of enjoying fellowship with Himself. Feel the consequences of being alienated from Him who is the center of your being, the focus of your living, the source of life itself. How would this affect you? Would it leave you groping in fearful confusion, wondering about your whole reason for living, and the possibility of a future?
What if I were again to accost you: "You really shouldn't be so selfish, so preoccupied with yourself and your problems. You ought to be completely unselfish"?
We need to recognize that what we often think of as selfishness is not the result of a deliberate, perverse choice. Rather, it is the inevitable result of being out of relationship with our Father. Conversely, the problem cannot be solved by a simple choice to become unselfish. If it is caused by being alienated, it can be cured only by being reconciled.
Sometimes we feel guilty for coming to Christ out of selfish motives. But the facts are that we have no choice, because that's exactly how sin has damaged us. We are guilty and long to be forgiven. We are lonesome and long to be loved. We are confused and need to be guided. We are hurting and need to be healed. Jesus' promise is that He can meet every last one of those needs so fully that we need live no longer for ourselves, but for Him.
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