What’s In It for Me?

I’ve found that one of the strange benefits of reading the Gospels is that it makes me so very ashamed.

Christ came to us in the flesh, and one of the things that never, ever crossed His mind was what was in it for Him. The great love He had for a humanity that rejected Him was displayed for all to see, and few noticed. With every silent turn of a page, I consider how He healed the sick, fed those who were hungry, and welcomed the outcast, never once seeking recognition or reward.

And then there is me.

Selfish.

Oh, the shame the Gospels bring upon me every time I read about a selfless love we did not deserve. A sacrifice of the ages we did not earn. A pure character, unblemished by a world that rejected Him for simply loving. The gift from its only Savior.

Christ’s example stands in such contrast to that still-fading impulse within me.

He must remain my daily example. In the morning when I wake and in the night as I sleep, along with the moments in between. I have long since chosen to reject that dying spirit that thinks of what’s in it for me, though it lingers. Like a weighted scale, the balance of who I am must lean heavily toward being Christlike both in character and in deeds.

Spending more time with Him in prayer and the written Word is the answer I seek. Pleading on my knees for a character that resembles His own. In those quiet moments of devotion, I’ll continue to find the strength to resist that baser nature that I think is within us all. This is the only way to reach those gates of glory. Within its walls are those words I so dearly yearn to hear:
“… ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord’” (Matthew 25:21).

I think being convicted can be one of the greatest blessings of all.