Life-spark: Being humble is being more alive. John 1:24-36
Ten years ago God was teaching me how to get free from myself. He revealed to me that I was living a self-centered and self-absorbed life. For two years, I said these four words at least once every day: “It’s not about me.” At first glance, that statement appears to be self-restricting, but it wasn’t such for me. This new viewpoint progressively freed me to focus on God and on others, knowing that God loved me and would take care of me. It changed me from being a person who came up to a person and thought “Here I am” to a person who came up to a person and thought “Here you are.” I still need periodic re-sets, but my whole view of life has pretty much changed, and it’s made me more alive.
John the Baptist turned the spotlight off of himself and onto Jesus: The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29, NIV And it wasn’t just a one-time thing for John: The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” John 1:35-36, NIV
John the Baptist called Jesus “the Lamb of God” knowing that He was the innocent one who would die for the guilty. He would give His life to absorb our death penalty.
John the Baptist is a great model for me. He understood it wasn’t about him. He reminds me of the little girl who had a birthday party and invited twelve friends. One of her friend gave her a box of chocolate candy. She opened the box and gave a chocolate to every friend. Then she closed the box and put it away. When her mom pointed out to her that she hadn’t take one for herself, she blushed and whispered, “Oh, I forgot I was here.”
The greatest life I can live is a life that puts others first and points others to Christ. An others-oriented life is not a sad life, it’s a joyful life. That’s how you spell joy – Jesus … Others … You.
One minute life-challenge: Here’s an opportunity to think of others, share this post on your favorite social media site – let others know that it’s okay to think of others, and it’s actually a good thing.