So let's start this sucker....
As some of you may already know, this past month has probably been the most trying of my life. God has tested me in ways that I have never experienced before and it has stretched me to my very limits.
*Quick Note: I am going to limit my conversing on the specifics of this subject at this time until I feel more comfortable sharing it with the masses. If you feel compelled to ask just send me a facebook message and I'll respond appropriately.
Back to what I was saying... I hope through this blog to share with you the things that I feel God is leading me in and teaching me in the midst of the various trials He is bringing before me.
It is amazing to me sometimes how focused we can be on ourselves. If I have learned anything through this time it is how selfish I can be and how blind I am to it. It is so easy sometimes to look at the "good things" you do for others and see yourself as being selfless because of it. I know one thing for sure that has slapped me across my chubby, bearded face during this time is that I am often not able to see how my acts of kindness towards others are selfishly motivated. I'm not saying that all my acts were done for that reason, but a lot of them were. True selflessness is wanting NOTHING in return.
When I look at my actions towards others, I see a sad correlation. I want people to think I am a nice guy. I guess that doesn't seem so bad, right? Most people would probably say that there is nothing wrong with that. Maybe they are correct to an extent, but here is where I think it is a problem: My actions are often not motivated out of a love and desire to see God glorified. Plain and simple. If I am really being selfless, I would be motivated to please God with my everyday actions REGARDLESS of what people think of me.
Look at Jesus in John 13. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. He got down on His hands on knees and washed the feet of His closest companions. The ultimate sign of service because it was a job that was supposed to be done by a servant. You may be thinking, yeah I understand that, what's your point? Here is the thing we often miss about this passage: Exactly whose feet did He wash? Well duh, the disciples. Yes, but WHOSE feet did He wash?
Jesus washed the feet of the man who betrayed Him that very night. He washed the feet of Judas. Our Lord and Savior got on His hands and knees and washed the feet of a man who sold him over to the pharisees for 30 pieces of silver. Think about that for a second.
.....keep thinking.....
If you knew that someone was plotting to kill you, would you still get down on your knees and wash his/her feet? Some of us may tell ourselves, "Well yeah I would." Here is my question though, do you really believe that?
I think that in the heart of our hearts most of us would avoid that person at all costs. We would want to stay as far away as possible. To an extent that might not be a bad idea, but you get what I am trying to say.
What Jesus did was say to this man, "I know you are going to betray me and that it is going to lead to my death, but I still love you. Let me do this for you." Your jaw should be on the floor right now. Now tell me that isn't something awesome? I know I'd be like, "Uh, sucurity, su-curity! Uh uh, this guy needs to go!" We would all probably be like that. But Jesus wasn't. He was so selfless that not only did He wash Judas' feet, but He also died for Him.
We are SOOO depraved at the center of our being. We can put on happy faces and look all pretty for others and be all nice and helpy, but we are seriously so selfish. We do things so other people think better of us! It's all for a self image! What we need to be doing is thinking, "How can I do this with an attitude that glorifies Christ?" On the outside our actions may look the same to others, but we'll know on the inside that it is all for Him. You know what else is cool about that too? We'll have a better self image because it will not be what others attribute to us, but what God attributes to us.
He is never failing of fleeting. The praises of others pass like the seasons, but the love of our God stretches from eternity to eternity. IT IS NEVER ENDING AND NEVER FAILING!!! Isn't that awesome? When we are obedient to Him and when we do everything out of a love for Him, his perfect love is made clear to us. He is so Good!
Remember that He is always there and that when we do things out of a love for Him, he blesses them in ways we could never imagine
God Bless,
Dan
PS-I apologize for the almost certain errors I have in this post. Hopefully they're not too bad.
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