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.
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