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So Long Self


"So long self, well it's been fun but I have found Somebody else. So long self, there's just no room for two, so you are gonna have to have to move..."* These lyrics are so true. I can't form an alliance between my selfish nature and Christ's nature formed in me-- no, but this is the beauty of the gospel, how He changes me from inside out. Self battles for control of my mind, my heart, my will... perhaps this why the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength. I'm born into the world loving Self instead.

Being born again in Christ means that now there's another nature in me that loves Him and wants to please Him. "But though You're love is in me, it doesn't always win me, when competing with my sin."* How I wish this wasn't true! I wish at the moment of conversion I lived for Him-- every thought, every action. But if that happened, then I wouldn't need Him, I wouldn't depend on Him. If I've learned nothing else these past ten years, I've learned that I need God. Apart from Him I fail. With Him... well, do I need to say anything else? Do the math: God plus nothing equals everything. Me plus nothing equals... me. Dear Reader: you can't, but God can. Let this truth sink in and may His Spirit strengthen you. Every temptation, each wayward thought, say so long to self and turn to Christ and find joy unspeakable.

Ponder this: if God's spirit lives in me, then the life I now live is for Him not for me.

My Prayer: Lord, may we die daily to our selfish desires and turn to You. Help us to overcome this old nature. Amen.

*MercyMe, So Long Self
*Steve Green, I Repent
*Image credit

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