Taking

If you were holding a box of chocolates, right now, would you offer one to the person sitting next to you? Or would you think about eating all the chocolates yourself?

Although we all like receiving gifts from other people, too often we think too much about ourselves to even begin to think about others. It could be something as small as not sharing a box of chocolates, but how about when you refused to help a friend paint their living room, preferring to keep the time to yourself? Or when you were working too hard towards your promotion that you forgot to help the new guy settle in? Or when you drove your car to the shops instead of walking, not caring about the environment?

Giving

Yet despite our own selfish attitudes, we like those who give! Your mate who buys you a drink down the pub or helps you move house; your sister when she gives you a Christmas present; your colleague at work who assists you with a difficult project.

Sometimes we think that there are strings attached to gifts, but when we discover that someone has freely given of their time, their money, their status, without gaining anything in return, we respect them even more. And to those who demonstrate the ultimate selfless, self-giving attitude by being prepared to give their lives for the lives of others; we regard these people as heroes.

Jesus

Let us think about God for a minute. Christians often say things like, “God is good,” but if God really is good, then shouldn’t he be generous? Shouldn’t he be self-giving? Shouldn’t he be as much as a hero as those who sacrifice their lives?

Well, of course he should be, and you know what, that’s exactly how we find that God is. And there’s no better occasion when he demonstrated this by taking human form and coming to earth as Jesus. The Bible says that Jesus, “had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what… When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!”

Whilst on the earth Jesus continued to demonstrate the perfect selfless life. One great story is how he washed his disciples’ feet. In those days, your feet would get incredibly dusty after travelling so a host would offer you water with which to cleanse your feet, or maybe if you were lucky a servant would wash them for you. But instead Jesus, God himself, washed their feet. In modern terms, imagine visiting Buckingham Palace and the Queen herself offering to park your car for you, acting as a valet. Or even offering to give you a foot massage!

But just like Jesus’ life began selflessly, it ended selflessly. He was prepared to give up his own life, even if it meant being crucified, one of the most horrendous methods of torture and execution we humans have ever created. And he went through that in order that he could take upon himself all the pain, all the suffering, all the sin and the shame that separates us from God, to restore our broken relationship with our Father in heaven.

Us

I find the idea of living a selfless and self-giving life extremely challenging. Yet as I look around, I can’t help thinking that the world would be a better place if we all thought a little less about ourselves and more about other people. So maybe today, tomorrow, or for the rest of your life, look around you and see what you can do to help out other people. After all, if God is prepared to give up everything for us, this is the least we can do.