I have called you friends . . . —John 15:15
We will never know the joy of self-sacrifice
until we surrender in every detail of our lives. Yet self-surrender is the most
difficult thing for us to do. We make it conditional by saying, “I’ll surrender
if . . . !” Or we approach it by saying, “I suppose I have to devote my life to
God.” We will never find the joy of self-sacrifice in either of these ways.
But as soon as we do totally surrender,
abandoning ourselves to Jesus, the Holy Spirit gives us a taste of His joy. The
ultimate goal of self-sacrifice is to lay down our lives for our Friend
(see John 15:13-14).
When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, our greatest desire is to lay down
our lives for Jesus. Yet the thought of self-sacrifice never even crosses our
minds, because sacrifice is the Holy Spirit’s ultimate expression of love.
Our Lord is our example of a life of
self-sacrifice, and He perfectly exemplified Psalm 40:8, “I delight to do Your will, O my God . . . .” He endured tremendous personal
sacrifice, yet with overflowing joy. Have I ever yielded myself in absolute
submission to Jesus Christ? If He is not the One to whom I am looking for
direction and guidance, then there is no benefit in my sacrifice. But when my
sacrifice is made with my eyes focused on Him, slowly but surely His molding
influence becomes evident in my life (see Hebrews
12:1-2).
Beware of letting your natural desires hinder
your walk in love before God. One of the cruelest ways to kill natural love is
through the rejection that results from having built the love on natural
desires. But the one true desire of a saint is the Lord Jesus. Love for God is
not something sentimental or emotional— for a saint to love as God loves is the
most practical thing imaginable.
“I have called you friends. . . .” Our
friendship with Jesus is based on the new life He created in us, which has no
resemblance or attraction to our old life but only to the life of God. It is a
life that is completely humble, pure, and devoted to God.
(Taken from Oswald Chambers – “My Utmost
for His Highest” August 25)