So Long Self

In salvation, I was set free from my self-life, so long self! My old, fleshly life died, so I didn’t have to satisfy that life anymore. I’m now presented with a moment-by-moment choice of Another’s satisfaction or my own. This Life Choice means that my self-life no longer has to be the pursuit of my life. He set me free from the slavery of trying to be satisfied in this life. So, why have I fought this so consistently?

I Can Say, So Long Self

I’ve been unchained from the shackles of seeking earthly reward. The highest experiences offered by this earth, be it taste, sound, sight, fragrance or touch, are fleeting and only temporal. On the other hand, when Christ is satisfied within my frame and within my life, the satisfaction is eternal because it is His satisfaction.

Does this mean that I will no longer be satisfied? That I will be left like a sentient orphan? Certainly not! It’s like changing bank accounts where I am no longer working to deposit funds into my own bank. Now I have a direct deposit set up for His account. And because His account is being funded, His life is being expanded, and in that expanse is my ultimate fulfillment. I’m not grasping at temporal straws; I am reaping a heavenly reward. Beyond that, and here’s the amazing thing, I still experience Life—it’s just not for me.

Living Life and So Long Self

I still feel all the gamut of life experiences; it just doesn’t all focus on ME and my pleasure. My pleasure is experienced in His fulfillment. This isn’t something you can logically work out, because this is something that is heavenly. This is something so beyond reasoning and understanding that it’s only grasped and only attained through a faith-filled, all-encompassing “yes” to God. This is something that you can only grasp as you abandon yourself to believe what was done at your salvation.  Now, I don’t remotely believe that I have fully attained this, but I have a vision of something I cannot grip. I’ve said YES for His Spirit to lead me into all of this.

I had a friend of mine say, “God gave me all these senses. Why would He have given me all the senses if He didn’t mean for me to use them and experience them?” And when I heard that, I realized the hurdle He was asking me to jump. I was leaping into something that would be seen as counter to the natural order.

Christ Said, So Long Self

Let me prove this to you in the life of Christ. Even Christ didn’t live for Himself. Christ lived for the Father and for His will and pleasure. I’m hoping to show you many scriptures that reveal this as I proceed. Christ Himself led the way by leading a life that didn’t satisfy self. Christ wasn’t looking to amass feelings, friends and fulfillment. Christ lived for ONE, and that was the Father. He is now asking us to do the same – not in power or in strength, but through our YES to the reality set in place at our salvation.

“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
John 6:38