What if?

It's almost time to put August in the books, but let me get just one more post in for this month.

I was getting caught up on TiVo this evening, too warn out to do much else, and so I watched three episodes of Joyce Meyer, one right after the other. A lot of what she said got me thinking (which I guess is the point), but one thing really stood out to me. This one thing is what I wanted to share with you tonight, just food for thought and adoration for an amazing God!

Selfishness is the one thing that stands between us and a successful love walk. We are so worried about what we will lose, or what we won't get, if we help others, reach out to them, put our lives aside and focus on someone else. Imagine, what if Jesus had been screaming 'What about Me?' as He hung on the cross. A life perfectly lived would have ended in a grand display of selfishness.

Instead, He said, Father I give My life into Your hands. Whatever happens to me is up to You.

What an amazing heart! Completely selfless. To say, I will do this for others, regardless of what it costs Me. To say, I will do what God has asked of Me, and I will leave the outcome up to Him. What an awesome Savior we've been given! What an incredible example He's left for us to follow; what a life of passion - a life full of love for others, love and obedience to God, and marked with the most selfless sacrifice imaginable.

What if Jesus had acted the way we would have acted? We would be without a Savior, because there would have been no perfect sacrifice. We would be left with the law as our only guide to any hope of salvation.

BUT...What if we were to act like Jesus acted? What if we were to give of ourselves, expecting nothing in return, holding no grudge for time or energy or resources expended? What if we loved others the way Jesus asks us to? What if we were kind and patient and gentle and good and humble and honest and faithful? What if our lives truly reflected the God we say we serve? How could we impact others if we could only set aside that selfishness that stands between us and the love walk we are meant to have? What if we served God with the same passion Jesus exemplified?

What if.