ME is Bigger Than I Want to Think

ME is Bigger Than I Want to Think

"If you love ME, keep My commandments." John 14:15

Sometimes I am so blinded to the truth about how big ME is! Now I am not just talking about my physical stature -- I am talking about ME -- the me that wants to always be in control. The me that always wants to do it MY way -- in fact, isn't there a song about that?

It starts very early. Observe your young kids and grandkids. ME is one of the first words that becomes a part of their vocabulary. Me = Mine!

The ME inside me is what keeps me from living life God's way. I want MY way, want to do life MY way, do what I want when I want it and how I want it. ME is bigger than I want to think.

If I want to live life the way GOD intends me to live -- HE must increase and I must decrease. The words of Oswald Chambers whacked me today:

Our Lord never insists obedience. He stresses very definitely what we ought to do, but He never forces us to do it. We have to obey Him out of a oneness of spirit with Him. That is why whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an "If," meaning, "You do not need to do this unless you desire to do so." "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . ." ( Luke 9:23 ).

In other words, "To be My disciple, let him give up his right to himself to Me." Our Lord is not talking about our eternal position, but about our being of value to Him in this life here and now. That is why He sounds so stern (see Luke 14:26 ). Never try to make sense from these words by separating them from the One who spoke them.
The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear. If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself. Jesus Christ will not force me to obey Him, but I must. And as soon as I obey Him, I fulfill my spiritual destiny.

My personal life may be crowded with small, petty happenings, altogether insignificant. But if I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God. Then, when I stand face to face with God, I will discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed.

When God’s redemption brings a human soul to the point of obedience, it always produces. If I obey Jesus Christ, the redemption of God will flow through me to the lives of others, because behind the deed of obedience is the reality of Almighty God.

Brothers, today is a good time to look at the ME part of you. Are we willing to yield the ME to HIM? Are we willing to allow ME to decrease and allow HIM to increase in our lives? It sounds easy, but it might be harder than you think. It is only possible when we allow Christ to live HIS life through ME! -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 3; Jeremiah 30-31; Philemon

Great Quote: The Bible is the only book whose Author is always present when one reads it. Anonymous