A song we sing at church is entitled I Give Myself Away. It was co-written by Sam Hinn and William McDowell (© 2008 Delivery Room Publishing) and expresses the depth of the teachings of Jesus — that we should not live for ourselves, but as living sacrifices for the salvation of others. However, our culture in America today centers around what is now being called Project Self. This label embodies what is happening to our culture and to people individually. They live totally for self, and yes, it’s in the church too.
Project Self means that everything in existence around me is to enhance and better my life. Whether it is my job, my family, friends, or even church, they exist to help me live a better life and be a better person. This philosophy seems to be a good thing on the surface, but as you dig deeper it is so shallow it cannot fulfill our lives in any way.
We were created for more than self-fulfillment. Ultimately God created us to live in community through what each of us shares with one another. Being created in the image of God necessitates us to be givers. Sharing with others the gifts God has given us is what a fulfilling life is all about. So it seems to me that society has sold us a bill of goods saying that our fulfillment is in what we can get for ourselves rather than in what we can give to others.
The lyrics of I Give Myself Away state, “My life is not my own, To You I belong, I give myself, I give myself to You.” This is the central truth that most Christians never come to understand about salvation. 1st Corinthians 6:19 and 20 declare to us, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” Romans 12:1 also says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.” In essence, sacrificial living is our worship to the Lord.
A common phase I use to express this truth is, “Love is not what you get, it is what you give.” Everyone around Calvary knows this statement, but I don’t think many of us realize the depth of it yet. That is why I felt a little deeper explanation is in order in this week’s blog.
Too often people assume the thing they are missing most in life is to be loved. It is not. Yes, companionship is important and God said it is not good for man to be alone, but you ARE loved and you ARE NOT alone. God has already expressed his love for you through the sacrifice of Jesus, his son, on the cross. There is no greater love than for someone to lay down his life for you (John 15:13). We must first embrace this core truth and its corresponding revelation before we can move past it to live by it.
Giving ourselves away for the purpose of loving others is simply the most fulfilling way of life we can pursue. In essence, it was not what Calvary, as a church, could do for me that drew me to Union City. It was the opportunity to lay down my life once again to help others. To understand me is to understand that I left self-interest behind years ago. I am confident in God’s love for me and through that confidence I am able to lay down my life for others.
There is a necessity of removing ourselves from current culture to begin walking in this way of life. I am still asked, “Pastor, if you know so much, why are you here? Why don’t you have all the good things of this life, like wealth and position?” Simply put, that would be like asking a missionary why he lives in a grass hut. I am here to give my life away for others. Preaching it necessitates living it and living it is the best way of preaching it.
I have found the most fulfilling life I can live does not mean people have to understand what I do, nor why I sacrifice earthly pleasure for godly pursuits. Fulfillment is simply found in doing God’s will and filling up within yourself the sufferings of Christ. (1st Peter 4:13).
Trials in life become very different when you are suffering on the behalf of others, rather than suffering to obtain selfish ends. Once you have tasted what it means to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, you can never go back to just satisfying your own desires. Therein lies the emptiness of serving self. Fulfilling self-interest can never complete you like living in the image of the Lord Jesus by serving others.
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped, but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself
and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!”
Philippians 2:5-8, NIV.
As Easter approaches and we reflect on the cross of Christ and why he did what he did, let us also see in the cross an opportunity to give ourselves away. Let the mind of Christ be in us and may we find our true fulfillment not in Project Self, but by taking up our cross and following Jesus to Calvary. Let us live the crucified life and "Follow the way of love." (1st Corinthians 14:1)