Circle of Love Part Deux: Me and God

Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? – Luke 9:23-25

This is one of those wild passages that make most of us think “riiiiiiight”.

I’m just keeping it real.

I don’t know anyone who is all that big a fan of denying themselves. I know I’m not. That doesn’t really sound like the business…

But let’s take a closer look.

In the first Circle of Love post I talked about how Jesus’ two great commandments to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself create an uninterrupted cycle that has the potential to help us achieve our dreams and spread love throughout the entire world.

Well this is another circle. This one helps us to better understand that first commandment to love God with our entire being.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.

So… what does that mean?

I believe that Jesus is speaking to our egos here. The whole notion of putting God first is a tough one to swallow. What about what I want to do? What about my desires? What about my dreams and aspirations. What if these things don’t jive with what this incomprehensible God wants for my life?

This is what my ego has said on many occasions. I don’t like the idea that I’m not in control of my life. I don’t like the notion that all of these choices that I am making may be some kind of elaborate illusion. That seems pretty strange. In the past it has been hard for me to let go of that.

But something amazing happened for me. When I started to let go of that control and worked on focusing on what God wants for my life everything started getting better. Opportunities popped up. Doors opened that I never even dreamed of walking through. In short, I saw possible paths for the future that I had not imagined before. If I had continued on my own I may never have seen them.

What if we don’t’ know what is best for us?

That question seems at first to be a ridiculous slap in the face. But when I finally sat and thought about it I was like hmmm… who would know more about what would bring the greatest lasting joy in my life? Me? Or God?

I mean I’m a pretty smart dude and all that… but I don’t think I’d win that contest.

This is what faith is. It’s letting go and letting God do what God does.

Plus, why would God want us to be miserable? I believe that those deep seeded, constructive desires of our hearts were put there by God anyway. Maybe God knows a better way to fulfill them then I do.

And this is one of the ways that our lives get saved in the end. By letting God guide our paths we forfeit the right to lead ourselves astray.

Getting in your own way really sucks doesn’t it? Or am I the only person who has done this?

Food for thought that I’m still chewing on…

Today’s Reading: Samuel 7-9; Luke 9:18-36