We’ve been called to pour out our lives in service of a greater good. And it’s clear we must often die to our own agenda and preferences to achieve this. Following the way of Christ, we’re willing to give up our privileges to fulfill the role God has given us to play in his story.
Knowing the path of the cross was before him, Jesus prayed for this cup of suffering to be taken from him, while also recommitting himself to follow through on the Father’s will for his life, and not his own.
And he sets the example for us as well.
For instance, in big and small ways, we often have to make sacrifices and die to the many ways we want to spend our time, energy, and money in order to love our families well. We might have to give up our sleep, work extra shifts, or patiently endure through many intense conversations when we much rather be doing anything else.
Of course, these sacrifices pale in comparison to what Christ did for us, but they provide opportunities for us to follow his example all the same. While we might like for things to be different, we’re not demanding a life on our terms, and instead, we’re willing to submit to whatever sacrifices God has called us to make.
It requires much grace and humility to surrender even to these small deaths. And this often becomes our needed prayer – not to get so caught up in what we want to do that we miss the way of the cross God has given us to follow as well.
In the end, you have a part to play in the story God is telling. And this often requires you to die to yourself and what you want to do in order to faithfully follow the path God has given you to follow.
Photo by Gift Habeshaw on Unsplash
But even Christ took time off for himself. He was not so demanding that he lost time with the father and himself. He knew a balance. We usually put ourselves at the very bottom of the list, and in doing so, burn ourselves out. This makes our service to others and our influence to God meaningless if we burn out. Why put ourselves through that torture of extra shifts, sleepless nights, working 80 hours a week, when Christ himself knew a better balance of life?
Agreed – We need regular times for rest and beauty and to simply recover from the many demands of life.