Living Beyond Yourself

One of the greatest parts of following Christ is that I can live for something beyond myself. This is so counter-cultural to the way most Americans think, but when I start to consider what living for myself would require, it gives me a headache. Seriously, what if you only lived to fulfill every desire that your flesh craved? Imagine the hours at work you would have to spend in order to make the money you would need to buy everything you would want. Imagine the relationships you make and break just to take the next step in fulfilling your every want.

At the same time, one of the hardest parts of being of Christian is making this decision to live beyond yourself. We all have things that we want but don't necessarily need. We are in a constant tug and pull between what we should and shouldn't pursue. Paul even wrestles with this same issue in Romans 7:15-25.

Here's what I'm getting to this morning... If you can achieve what you desire on your own then your desires are not worth achieving! Yeah, you didn't misread what I said. I believe we ought to pursue a life that is so beyond ourselves and dependent on God that if HE doesn't come through, there's no way we will accomplish what we desire.

I was reading in Hebrews 11:13-16 and God really hit me with this principle. You see, the people this passage is referencing all lived way beyond themselves. They understood that what they were living for was beyond themselves. Honestly, they even knew they probably wouldn't see their desires fulfilled on this earth, but that was okay for them. They knew that in the end God would be there for them, and they still would've fulfilled their purpose in life.

This passage ends with a powerful statement in verse 16. To summarize this verse, it says, "Because they desired something better than this life and beyond themselves, God was not ashamed to be called their God." As soon as I read this, I sensed God ask me the following question that I honestly may spend the rest of my life trying to unpack, "Are you willing to live so beyond yourself that I won't be ashamed to be your God?"