Matthew 10:39
"He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it"
Often, throughout the various situations we find ourselves in, we are searching for ways to be served rather than to serve. In social situations we look to be treated warmly. In our family we expect to be respected and seek positive feelings from those around us. At work we look for positive feedback about the efforts we're making.
However, the entire message of the bible is simply, "become a self-gift." As part of a local women's bible study, we are reading one of John Paul II's encyclicals entitled "Mulieris Dignitatem" (The Dignity and Vocation of Women). In the document he mentions the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden and points out, "Man set himself against God and sought to find fulfillment apart from God." Thus the eating of the apple and the hope of attaining something which they thought God might be holding back from them.
The world, and our own inner voices, often agree with Adam and Eve here. We are told to look for a more fulfilling relationship elsewhere if our marriage is too hard. Or, we are told not to have any more children if it may be restricting our own personal happiness. Or, we are to look to money as the path to peace and security. Hundreds of times each day we seek intangibles other than God to quench our thirst for Him.
Just as the apple was a false promise of knowledge, so, too, are the promptings of the world and those that can come from within. They are merely ideas that have no backing.
Rather, John Paul II points out, the cure for the Common Fallen Man is this: "...man...cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of self."
However, the entire message of the bible is simply, "become a self-gift." As part of a local women's bible study, we are reading one of John Paul II's encyclicals entitled "Mulieris Dignitatem" (The Dignity and Vocation of Women). In the document he mentions the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden and points out, "Man set himself against God and sought to find fulfillment apart from God." Thus the eating of the apple and the hope of attaining something which they thought God might be holding back from them.
The world, and our own inner voices, often agree with Adam and Eve here. We are told to look for a more fulfilling relationship elsewhere if our marriage is too hard. Or, we are told not to have any more children if it may be restricting our own personal happiness. Or, we are to look to money as the path to peace and security. Hundreds of times each day we seek intangibles other than God to quench our thirst for Him.
Just as the apple was a false promise of knowledge, so, too, are the promptings of the world and those that can come from within. They are merely ideas that have no backing.
Rather, John Paul II points out, the cure for the Common Fallen Man is this: "...man...cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of self."
After reading that I thought instantly about Mary when she first learned from the Angel Gabriel that she would be the mother of Jesus. What was her first act? Sulk? Brag? Gloat? No, she went to her cousin Elizabeth, who was expecting a child herself, and served her.
How often do we have a hurt ego and seek out ways to comfort ourselves? Sometimes, when I am having a "bad day", I find it hard to serve. Rather, I want to be consoled and coddled. The Saints knew the fallacy of this and they emptied themselves into the circumstances they were in.
It is through the daily acts of becoming a self-gift that we truly find peace and joy.
Throughout this next week, let us ask ourselves, "How can I be a self-gift in this situation?" When we feel empty and are looking for consolation, let us find an opportunity to fill someone else up through acts of love or service. May we attain a small slice of the peace that surpasses understanding through becoming a self-gift.
Jen Fulwiler at Conversion Diary posted "My life changing diapers" today. Check it out as another vantage of self-gift.
It is through the daily acts of becoming a self-gift that we truly find peace and joy.
Throughout this next week, let us ask ourselves, "How can I be a self-gift in this situation?" When we feel empty and are looking for consolation, let us find an opportunity to fill someone else up through acts of love or service. May we attain a small slice of the peace that surpasses understanding through becoming a self-gift.
Jen Fulwiler at Conversion Diary posted "My life changing diapers" today. Check it out as another vantage of self-gift.
