Romans 12:1-8
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Reflection
Forget about yourself and get over it! We have work to do and don't have time to fool around with those who always want attention shining upon themselves for one reason or another. Let God take over in your life and let your mind change from what is worldly to what is eternal with God. After all, everything you have and every skill you possess didn't come from you or even your own hard work, the core of your very being came from a loving God who created you and all that exists. So get over yourself and look to the gifts God has given to you to use to glorify God in the Kingdom.
When you decide to get over yourself, you will find your self-esteem does not need to be handled with such care that almost anything can destroy you. You don't need to be all caught up in your own confidence. You can live a confident life knowing that God loves you so much that Jesus gave his life for you in order that you may live with him eternally in God's Kingdom. You can live out your life confident that the gifts and skills God has graciously given to you to use are for a reason God has planned for you to give to all the people in God's Kingdom.
So, don't get all caught up in your own self-esteem. If you only worry about your own status you are no good to anyone else. Stop thinking of yourself and think of the other person. Just as Jesus gave his body to death, we are to give our bodies to death and live the resurrected life that Jesus has been resurrected into on our behalf. Jesus did all of this not because he thought he needed to better himself, or that he thought that his skills needed to be polished. No, Jesus gave his life out of love for you. It wasn't about Jesus for Jesus... it was about God's love for you and for me. So, emulate Jesus and give up your body... yes your life... to live out the love of God for the love of all of those God chooses to give to you.
So... forget about yourself and get over it!
"...but be transformed by the renewing of your minds..."
We have work to do in God's Kingdom!
Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldiEOAtlTKU
Prayer
Lord, forgive me when I get all caught up on myself. Show me the way to give my life to live out the love you have graciously given to me in the freedom of the resurrection of Jesus... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment