Self For Jesus

'For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'  "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed you, or thirsty and You drink?  'When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  'Or when did we see You sick , or in prison, and come to You?'  And the king will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.'
Matthew 27: 35 - 40 NKJV

It is said that the quickest way to depression is to think only of ourselves.  I couldn't agree more.  I believe that we, as humans, are hard wired to think of and do for others.  This isn't some biological theory, but in how we were created from the beginning.  I don't believe that it was Gods intention that we go through life solo, without the aid or comfort from those around us.  Indeed, God noticed this need in Adam as well {Genesis 2:18}.  Therefore, God created for Adam, a helper "comparable" to him.  Many see this scripture as the Lords indication that a man should indeed be bound to a wife.  I don't dispute this.  However, I also believe that God had something else in mind when He created Eve.  Something along the lines of companionship and/or relationship.  God did not desire for Adam or Eve to think only of themselves.  We can certainly learn from this scripture as well.  For the scriptures are full of reminders of our Lords desire for His children to be relational to others.  A good friend of mine who, despite all of my attempts, chooses to remain nameless refers to this as "self for self versus self for others."  When we are self for self people, our thoughts and actions are centered around ourselves only.  We desire to relate and help those around us as much as we can.  Self for others people often draw in others around them for relationships.  When I think of self for others people, I think of my mother.  There was never a Sunday morning when she wasn't in church in the company of the many friends she had made there.  To her it wasn't all about the tradition of the institutional church, but of the fellowship she had while she was there.  It was not until her passing that I realized just how many lives she touched.  Even now, I will run into someone who will know me only because I was her son.  That's some pretty good company to be in.  I've known many self for others people over the years, and I've known more than a few self for self people as well.  When you think about it, they are pretty easy to tell apart.  Jesus's statement we find in Matthew 25:40 should be our guide, "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me."  Of course, our Lords statement is true in the fact that when we think of others over ourselves, we are thinking of Jesus Himself.  If we follow the apostle Paul's description of Christ in us, we can see that as we think of others, we think of Christ who is in them {Galatians 2:20}.

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
Philippians 2: 3 NKJV

When a friend pointed out to me that when we are upset with another person, we are upset with Jesus as well, I didn't want to accept it at first.  However, since I don't hold the patent on who Jesus chooses to abide in, I'm guessing that statement is true.  There are certainly others out there in our daily lives who have Jesus living through them.  There are also those who have His Spirit yet have not recognized Jesus in themselves.  Either way, Jesus is in us all.  Yes, even in that guy you flipped off after he cut you off on the freeway.  It was hard for me to see this truth, so I'm sure it's difficult for others as well.  There was a time when my thoughts of Jesus were more along the self for self line.  I knew Jesus was in me, but I mistakenly saw others who mistreated me as being self for self people.  Of course, I had no way of knowing that.  I will say that seeing Jesus for who He really is, that is, living in all of Gods children, will throw a monkey wrench into how we treat those around us.  Can I really be angry or mistreat Jesus?  Most would answer no, yet that is what we are doing when we talk wrongly or mistreat another person.  But what about the sins of others?  Forget about that, God already has a long time ago {Romans 6:11}.  We are now dead to those sins we've hung onto for so long.  So, does a person still sin?  No!  However, what will happen is someone may not realize the truth of who they really are inside.  Did I sin by flipping off the other driver?  No, I'm dead to sin now.  I did, however, temporarily forget He who lives through me.  The fact is, I believe that we were all created to be a self for others creation.  That is, a creation of our heavenly Father with kindness, compassion and, above all, relationships with Christ Jesus and those around us.  I consider myself to be a self for others type as I continue to seek relationships and friendships with those around me.  This is the person I was created to be.

~Scott~