2 Corinthians 5:15 (NLT) He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

I was recently telling a group of people that I generally live my life doing things that I naturally do not want to do. Most of my week is comprised of things that in my own nature and under my own control, I have no desire of doing. I am doing things and living in a way that I would not choose for myself.

I know that this sounds like drudgery and an unhappy way to live but actually, the total opposite is true. When Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount, people had never heard of concepts such as those. The things that Jesus spoke about were totally foreign to their ears. He taught things such as, “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well,” or “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” Those are things that in the natural, you or I would not want to do. But why did He teach that and why does Jesus want us to live that way? It’s because He is the Truth and if we know the Truth, it will set us free. Free from what? It will set us free from the hold that sin has on our lives which changes the very image of God that we were created in. The reason I don’t want to do those things is because in my sin, I am totally not like God and am the opposite of how He created me to be. So without God (me in the natural), I don’t generally want to go out of my way for someone else and would rather do things for my own self. I would rather do things that I think will benefit ME and be fun for ME and that would make ME happy. But as Solomon learned, that is like chasing after the wind.

It is an inescapable truth that we were created by God to be like Him. That is the underlying image that is hidden and marred by the sin that dwells in us. Our sinful minds tell us that if we look out for numero uno (me, myself and I), we will be happy and will lead a satisfied life. But that is so not true. That is a very small and withered way to live. I actually live a full life when I put others’ cares and needs before my own and when I go out of my way for someone else. My life is actually blessed when I reach out to bless someone else. My heart is full and it grows in love when I do what Jesus said that we must do. The words that Jesus spoke are not only true, they are life (John 6:63). So I will continue, in the strength and power that the Lord provides, to do the things that I normally would not want to do to the glory of God, and I will therefore continue to live the abundant life that Jesus said I would live as a result. That is the blessing of doing what you don’t want to do!

Pastor Joey Vazquez