It is always perplexing how selfishness and self-centeredness creeps into people’s lives. It is like the saber tooth tiger that Fred Flintstone put out the door every night only to have it jump back in the window or the cat at your house that every time the door opens it tries to get in the house and has to be hssss-ed away. No matter how many times selfishness is put to rest, it comes back to life. Self-centeredness seems to have more lives than the nine lives that a cat supposedly has.
Paul challenged the followers of Jesus in Corinth concerning who we live for. He wrote:
Christ did die for all of us. He died so we would no longer live for ourselves, but for the one who died and was raised to life for us. (2 Corinthians 5:15 CEV)
Jesus died so that we would not live self-centered, selfish lives any longer. Jesus died and rose from the dead so that we would live for Him.
Followers of Jesus are sometimes referred to as ‘believers’. That is what a follower of Jesus is but … a follower of Jesus is much more than that. Without faith it is impossible to please God, yet faith without action is dead. (Hebrews 11 and James 2) The action that true faith requires and produces is ‘live for Him’ action.
True faith is seen in the action that Jesus would have taken. True faith is not seen in the ‘What Would Jesus Do’ or ‘WWJD’ movement from a few years ago. The problem with the WWJD movement was it was a bracelet worn on the arm but not action lived towards Jesus, neighbors, enemies or strangers.
‘I believe!’ … is not enough. The Scriptures call for ‘I believe’ and ‘I no longer live for me but I live for Him.’
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NLT)
Live for Him – There is no one else to live for!
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