Self-Focused Living by Joe Stowell

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10-11 Learning more about myself is not always a pleasant experience. Introspection often compounds my insecurities and doubts. Trips into my inner self can expose memories of past failures and resurrect fears of the future. That’s why spending time getting to know Jesus is of such great value. In fact, living to know Jesus is the key to understanding and making peace with ourselves. Are you trying to discover your self-worth? You have it in Him—He died for you! Are you plagued by failure and guilt? He does what no one else will or can do for you—He forgives and forgets, kills the fattened calf as heaven rejoices (Luke 15:22-24), and clothes you with the best robes of His righteousness. Are you searching for significance? Search no more—you are His child. There is no greater significance than that. Are you trying to figure out your life and wondering if there is any purpose for you on this earth? The mystery is unraveled in Him as He leads you to live for His glory and to reflect the reality of His character. Let’s face it, you’ll never finally or fully make it on your own. Self is forever inadequate to satisfy your soul, and it is inept to solve the restless searching of your heart. Until we learn that lesson, we will continue to discover that the trouble with self-focused living is that it is never resolved. Just when you think you know all about yourself, you’ll do something that surprises and disappoints you. Like the hamster that spends most of its time running in its wheel, self-absorbed people rarely get to resolution. Life must be about more than getting to know ourselves. In fact, if you’re determined to spend a great deal of time preoccupied with yourself, life is bound to bore you to tears. None of us are special enough to enthrall ourselves with ourselves for the rest of our lives. So, welcome to the joy of living to know Jesus! YOUR JOURNEY… In what ways have you been focusing too much on yourself? What leads to unhealthy introspection? How can you learn to fix your eyes on Jesus instead of on yourself? Categories: Basics Of Faith, Character, Christian life, Christlikeness, Cost Of, Priorities, Salvation, Self Images Tags: Christlikeness, cost of, Priorities, self-images