Denying Self

Denying Self "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will find it." Matthew 16:25 Is your life centered around yourself? If you are like most people, it certainly is. Deny myself?? Before I accepted Christ into my life, I felt I was the center of the universe. How could I ever deny myself?? It was all about me and no one else .. Me, Me, Me, .. I, I, I, with a capital "I" We have to look at the example of Jesus, to learn how to live. We have to ask Him to unlock the meaning of life, by surrendering our life to His control. After Jesus explained to the disciples that He would die, He told them that they, too, must die. And we can assume that they did not understand how they were to take up their own cross, as Jesus gave them this scripture. "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). Deny myself, they probably asked? Self is at the center of every decision most people make. They choose their job because they like the work, or because they need to survive. They choose their spouse because they seem special when they are with this person. They choose their friends because they make them feel needed and worthwhile. When most people made a decision it is usually with a purely selfish motive, as they are thinking only about themselves, and what will make them happy and contented. Yet Jesus calmly listens to this blustering and reminds us that the essence of life will never be found in any of that. He alone is the source of meaning. Only by living for Him will we discover how to really live. When we begin to get our minds off ourselves and love God and others as we love ourselves this is when life really begins. As we look at the example of Jesus, we learn how to live. We all need to seek and find God to unlock the meaning of life by surrendering our life to His control. Robert W. Brock My Daily Devotional Volume Seven April 28