I want to share with you guys part of an email from a friend of mine. This is what she said (I've left her name out so she won't be embarrassed): "Please pray that the Lord would shine through me. I don't want people to be left with 'Oh wow, [person] is such a fun girl.' I want to leave them with the amazing Savior that saved me." That really made me smile and thank God so much for that type of attitude expressed in a Christian teenager. It's something that I've been struggling with ever since I can remember. The idea that we should care more about Christ being glorified through us, rather than our own glorification.
Self-centeredness is something that I struggle with a lot...and something that we struggle with as teenagers in general. Many times we go into social situations with the intent to impress or get people to like us or make sure that people still like us. We can find ourselves being people-pleasers in order to feel a sense of worth. We find worth in our identity and too often we try to find our identity in how others feel about us.
The problem lies in where we find our identity. Instead of finding our identity in the image we present to people, we should find our identity in the Person who we were made in the image of. Christ is who we should find our identity in. Now, I know you all know this. But, it is hard to live it out--trust me, I struggle with it every day. You see, we naturally bend towards seeking to glorify ourselves. We do this because we think that worth is found in other's opinions, or social significance. When in reality, worth is found in the eyes of God! God loves you oh so much, and He sent His Son to die for you. And, through Christ's death, you have been transformed from death to life (and, in turn, have been given the ability to seek to glorify Him, instead of glorifying yourself). And, because you now can find your worth in Christ, your striving to find glory among people is really quite meaningless. You already have so much worth and significance in Christ!
This is why it made me so happy to read what my friend wrote. We can now stop seeking to glorify ourselves, and start seeking Christ to be glorified through us. We live not for the praise of man, but for the love of Christ. This is a hard task, and one not easily accomplished (and even harder to make a lifestyle). But never despair, because God will see your strivings to bring Him glory, and He will rejoice in them. He will also help you grow more and more and will give you a desire more and more to glorify Christ. I encourage you to examine your life for a second. Pray that God would reveal to you your heart, and that He would help you to live a life that is focused on His glorification instead of your own. He will help you. Never be discouraged! We live for a God who desires your all, but we also live for a God who will give you all the patience, love, mercy, and grace that He's got. And trust me, it's never going to run out. :-) God bless you!
Self-centeredness is something that I struggle with a lot...and something that we struggle with as teenagers in general. Many times we go into social situations with the intent to impress or get people to like us or make sure that people still like us. We can find ourselves being people-pleasers in order to feel a sense of worth. We find worth in our identity and too often we try to find our identity in how others feel about us.
The problem lies in where we find our identity. Instead of finding our identity in the image we present to people, we should find our identity in the Person who we were made in the image of. Christ is who we should find our identity in. Now, I know you all know this. But, it is hard to live it out--trust me, I struggle with it every day. You see, we naturally bend towards seeking to glorify ourselves. We do this because we think that worth is found in other's opinions, or social significance. When in reality, worth is found in the eyes of God! God loves you oh so much, and He sent His Son to die for you. And, through Christ's death, you have been transformed from death to life (and, in turn, have been given the ability to seek to glorify Him, instead of glorifying yourself). And, because you now can find your worth in Christ, your striving to find glory among people is really quite meaningless. You already have so much worth and significance in Christ!
This is why it made me so happy to read what my friend wrote. We can now stop seeking to glorify ourselves, and start seeking Christ to be glorified through us. We live not for the praise of man, but for the love of Christ. This is a hard task, and one not easily accomplished (and even harder to make a lifestyle). But never despair, because God will see your strivings to bring Him glory, and He will rejoice in them. He will also help you grow more and more and will give you a desire more and more to glorify Christ. I encourage you to examine your life for a second. Pray that God would reveal to you your heart, and that He would help you to live a life that is focused on His glorification instead of your own. He will help you. Never be discouraged! We live for a God who desires your all, but we also live for a God who will give you all the patience, love, mercy, and grace that He's got. And trust me, it's never going to run out. :-) God bless you!
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