MY life lived not about ME.

  So here goes, the cliche' that we all hear all the time.  We hear it in church, in school, from parents, quotes, marriage books etc.  Live life for OTHERS and not yourself.

We all jump on the bandwagon and give a hearty AMEN whether we hear this in church, on Facebook, or in a small group.  But, do we really LIVE this.  I mean I am right there with the rest of the world in quickly saying, YEAH I do.  When I step back though, and re-examine myself for a few minutes, I can see where I quickly fall short.  We all do it within our comfort zone.  We will do things for other people if we feel that it is within our "gift set".  We will love people even when they are unloveable until it becomes REALLY hard.  But, what about when our husband is going through a really tough time and is acting in a way that isn't him?  Can we love him in the midst of that?  We will volunteer at church in the area that we want to or is convenient for us, but what about the area with the most need?  What about as a parent?  Do we do things and discipline in ways that will best benefit our children, or do we do it in ways that make us feel better?

  I don't know about you, but I want to live a life that makes a difference.  A life that pleases God.  A life that SCREAMS Jesus!  And what did Jesus do while he was on this earth?  He served others....he washed people's disgusting/filthy feet for crying out loud!  He lived the ultimate sacrifice and DIED for us, the sinners who would turn their backs on him, who sinned against him, who did not deserve love AT ALL!  Jesus, in his dying moments as he hung on the cross, forgave a man who hung beside him.  A man he was dying for, a man who did deserve punishment.  Can we live our lives to help and love those who "don't deserve it"?  How quick are we to say in life, "well, they don't deserve me."??  Or what about this, "I can't serve in that capacity because it doesn't work for me."  Or, "they haven't said sorry, I can't forgive them."
  What if we started living in a way that helped others even when we didn't want to.  What if we made our minds up that we would start being a selfless people.  How many lives could we touch with that kind of perspective?  We could be genuine life changers.  People would care about what we wanted them to know because they would know how much we cared.  So, LET'S DO THIS!  I struggle with this, just as much as the next person.  I try constantly to be selfless, but then make excuses when things get hard or inconvenient.  It's time to stop making excuses, stop being half-way selfless (which really isn't self-less at all), and live a life for others.  Let's be Jesus to the world...