ISAIAH 43:25 – I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.
THEME OF THE DAY. IT REALLY IS ALL ABOUT HIM. The wife of William Booth, Catherine, who alongside her husband, founded The Salvation Army in 1873, tells a beautiful and instructive story for Christians to ponder, even model. It left a permanent and gracious mark on her life.
There was an elderly man who lived a life of godliness. He seemed to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus daily. Every day, the man portrayed a love for Christ from the inside out that characterized him all the days of his life. At last, old age and the frailty of the body took its toll. He was nearer the time of his departure from this world to enter into the beauties of heaven and to see his Savior, the Lord Jesus. In his last days, all he could do was talk of the glories of Jesus and His holy name. It so happened as the man drew near to death, a document was discovered requiring his signature. It was brought before him. A pen was placed in his hand. He rose from his pillow, leaned toward the paper and for a brief moment wrote on it. Then, he fell back into his bed breathing his last breath. On the paper was a name he placed on the signature line. It was not his, but the Name that is above all Names – the Lord Jesus. Within sight of eternity and seeing Jesus, the man lost thought of anything about himself. It was Jesus. Jesus alone that captured his heart, mind, and caused his fingers to pen Jesus’ name, not his.
How much of life, especially the Christian life, do we find revolving around ourselves? It isn’t wrong to be concerned about personal interests. The Apostle Paul reminded the Philippian believers of this truth – Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:4). It is wrong when life revolves and is consumed with personal interests. And this type of sinful self-love and focus easily creeps into our spiritual lives. Think about it in the area of prayer. Where is most of our praying directed? Ourselves? Our desires? Or do our prayer lives reflect more the Lord Jesus and intercession for others? What about church attendance? Are we observed more as spectators in our churches than participants? Do the people we attend church with see us as active servants or passive come once a week consumers? If church is more about what we get than what we give, then even church life has drifted into selfishness.
Another area in our spiritual life easily focused on ourselves is our salvation. Yes, we are saved as individuals. Yes, salvation is personal. Yes, salvation is one-on-one with God, but even salvation isn’t about us. Check out today’s scripture again. We find the Lord placing a lot of emphasis on Himself to include the motive behind forgiving our sins. It is for His sake, not ours. We may actually simplify salvation like this . . . God saved us by Himself (His grace), for Himself (His purpose), and from Himself (His wrath). Should we begin to see all of life not through the eyes of self-interests, we will go a long way to enjoying the life God has for us; a life of joy, peace, and fruitfulness as we learn to practice what the Bible teaches – it isn’t about us in anything.
PRAYER: “Father, help me understand nothing in my life is about me, even my salvation, but all about Jesus.”
QUOTE: “The moment our thinking of the Christian life is on ourselves, the drift away from a Christ-centered life begins.”