Wednesday, October 10, 2012

It's not about you

not about you

Part of our journey is realizing that it's not about us, not individually that is. Pause for one second and breathe that in. It. is. not. about. ME. 

What a shift! Our entire culture is me, me, me, me. Yet, with all the focus on self-satisfaction, have you noticed how no one is all that happy or satisfied? Our very souls are crying out for more.

Have you found yourself in a place where you are asking, what else? Maybe you have finally come to the conclusion that all these efforts to please yourself only result in temporal good feelings. But that emptiness or that yearning is always present.

To lose this notion of the individual I, me, the self, is actually to know that you are more. It is to know that you are a child of God with a power burning brightly within you that is greater than you. But this power is not just for your use, but for All. Many scriptures talk about selflessness and uniting with your spiritual brothers and sisters to be of one heart and mind -- Acts 4:32, Rom 15:6, 2 Cor 13:11, Phil 2:2. The something else you're missing is an understanding of our collective purpose in rebuilding the kingdom of God as One.

Now, please don't confuse what I mean by kingdom-building. This is not another us against them war to be waged. This is about helping each other to see who we really are, the way God sees us. That is Love. See, we have to flip our old understandings on their heads. This is why the Bible talks so much about renewing your mind.  Colossians 3:22 tells us to set our minds on things above not on earthly things. Notice that "set" is an active verb; that means we have a choice of where we allow our mind to go! To set our minds on God means we're not focused on all the junk of this world -- fear, anxiety, shame, guilt, anger -- because we know who God is and that He is in us.

By focusing on Him, we can instead be lead by His Spirit -- walking in love, joy, peace and all the promises of God that are our inheritance. "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. . . . The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs -- heirs of God and co-heirs with Chirst." (Romans 8:14-17).

It is time for us to reclaim who we really are -- to be made new in the attitude of our minds by letting go of this false notion of self. The truth is that I and you and God are all connected as ONE. When you say no to (the limited) self and yes to God (the all and all; His creation, His will, His purpose), than you are embodying your true identity.  

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?(Matthew 16: 24-26).

Are you ready to lose yourself?

No comments:

Post a Comment