Dying to Self

A powerful (and beautiful) movie I saw recently, Amazing Grace, portrayed the enduring humanity of William Wilberforce whose life cause was to end the slave trade in Britain (be sure to watch it if you haven’t yet). When then Prime Minister William Pitt (the younger) congratulated Wilberforce on his marriage to Barbara Spooner with a fervent “Condolence,” it got me baffled for a while. But I brushed it off as just the part where I should laugh ;-)

Our pastor today good-humoredly uttered the same thing. And, he said, shouldn't it be so, for when we follow and desire the Lord Jesus above all else, we die to self and all of our sinful nature? (Galatians 5:24 and Luke 9:23).

To express one’s condolences in the middle of a blissful wedding celebration can be a laughable thing – or it can have a nice ring to it, depending on one’s perspective. But when we truly understand who we are as Christ’s own, William Pitt couldn’t have voiced it more aptly.

We all know that love has never been about what one can get, but what one can give. When our soul is filled to the innermost with Jesus Christ, satisfied to the core with the tremendous realities of our King, then we approach marriage as a holy chance to serve the other person. It is when we have fully allowed the Lord to meet and fill each of our needs that we can absolutely say to one another, “How can I serve you?” It revolves around dying to self and looking outwardly, relinquishing desires of “what-we-want-is-what-we-get” (that which females know too well). It is in the precept of selflessness that God can ultimately display His true nature as the Author of love – in the love stories He writes individually for us.

Ben Zornes’ interview left quite a mark on me. Yes, I think his love story is one of the few ones that stirred my heart in humble adoration to the King. “A relationship has to show the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ in all things; essentially, it has to be a stage to demonstrate the nature of Jesus to the world.” He didn’t shout out expressions of love as means of displaying his euphoria. Although I am sure he was and is extremely happy, his own love story still points back to Jesus Christ. And when we remember that, our humbled hearts and surrendered lives can quiet all sorts of worldly elation. Because it is not about how we feel: it is how we continually let the Lord use even lovely little love stories that make Him the Center. It is how we trust Him to work out even the smallest details, and how we surrender every desire of the heart to die in itself so that the Author of the story Himself will be gloried with our absolute trust. As he said, “True virtue is proven in what it does with the desires of the heart.”

I wasn’t at Krissy (Ludy's) wedding day. But I was told that God’s presence was absolutely overwhelming in that place. It was as if “God Himself came down to honor her," because she lived a God-honoring life as she waited on Him, placed her trust in Him, delighted in Him, and pursued Him wholeheartedly. By His grace, let us faithfully do the same and make the Lord our all in all. We belong to Him, and we are His! Isn’t that more than enough to satisfy? So that when an earthly love story comes along, it will be an extension of the greatest romance for all time - our love story with Jesus Christ..

Bless! ♥♥