Hello All,
(Just a general disclaimer that I must insert here at the beginning. I am but a lay person, like most of you. And these weekly “thoughts” are but my own. Not the definitive word on this or any topic. Just my own conclusions derived from my own study and faith in God. The greatest hope I have for these weekly “thoughts” is to have them be a springboard for further study on your part. Not to be a weekly treatise to be blindly accepted. So, please read them with this intent, this motive in mind).
This week’s lesson from the “Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide”, is titled “Mission to My Neighbor”. In this lesson we look particularly “how this lesson can be applied in our lives” (quarterly for Sabbath Nov. 11). A worthy study.
In Sunday’s lesson titled, “the question of questions”, the concept is posited that the ultimate question for us is “What shall I do to inherit eternal life”. “In contrast to this (question), what else really matters for beings whose lives are depicted as ‘a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away’” (James 4:14 NKJV quoted in Sunday’s lesson). I find this motive empty and at its core, sinful, for us creatures made in God’s image. It may be a starting motive for many of us. But it is only that… a starting point that appeals to the baser instincts of animals… survival.
Our focus on our own eternal security is very appealing to us and to Satan. He would have our highest goal be to save self at all costs. Not to sacrifice our eternal security for the sake of others. But this self-sacrificing characteristic is our true identity. It’s the characteristic of all inhabitants of heaven. And if our goal is to have eternal life, to save self at all costs and to have nothing that has a higher precedence than our eternal security, then we will likely not attain it. “He who loves his life shall lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25). “To live for self is to perish… the desire of benefit for self's sake, cuts the soul off from life. It is the spirit of Satan to get, to draw to self. It is the spirit of Christ to give, to sacrifice self for the good of others” (Christ’s Object Lessons pg. 259).
In Philippians 2 we read of Christ’s true character… and by extension, all of heaven’s inhabitants, too. It’s a character that does not grasp to its prerogatives but gives them all up for the good of others… gives everything to save others. Satan’s subtle delusion is an appeal to self-preservation at all costs. To have nothing stand in our way of gaining eternal life. This is the character of Satan, not of our selfless God. Self-sacrificing love is the true nature of those inhabitants of heaven. All inhabitants have “the spirit of unselfish love that reigns there --every heart responding to the heart of Infinite Love” (Steps to Christ pg. 17). God redeems us from our craven need to exalt self, to preserve self. And frees us to love selflessly as He loves. To be willing to sacrifice even our eternal security for any brother or sister… any… even our worst enemy. We are to “let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). To be willing to sacrifice everything for love of others. If we have our own eternal reward as our top priority with nothing higher, then we are not like the inhabitants of heaven and are unfitted for their companionship. “We are not to think of reward, but of service… While it is true that God Himself is the great Reward, that embraces every other, the soul receives and enjoys Him only as it becomes assimilated to Him in character. Only like can appreciate like. It is as we give ourselves to God for the service of humanity that He gives Himself to us” (Mount of Blessing pg. 81).
I pray that there is something on our “list” higher than our own eternal life. And that “something” is the salvation of others. I pray that our true heart yearns for their salvation ahead of our own. It is the spirit of our “Home”. And if this spirit of selflessness is not in truth our own and we do have our own eternal life first, then we must make haste to fall on our knees and pray the Father to do whatever it takes to save us from our sinful, polluted mind and heart. We cannot change our heart. But God can and will, if we trust Him. May we each be born anew every moment of every day is my prayer for us all.
With brotherly love,
Jim