Monday Musings ~ It's not about me

I have been reading about Paul and I discovered that he was one of the first to say, "It's not about me."  Jesus was the ultimate example of that - but this passage in Acts really jumped out to me when I read it.

When we heard that, we and everyone there that day begged Paul not to be stubborn and persist in going to Jerusalem.  But Paul wouldn't budge.  "Why all this hysteria?  Why do you insist on making a scene and making it even harder for me?  You're looking at this backward.  The issue in Jerusalem is not what they do to me, whether arrest or murder, but what the master Jesus does through my obedience.  Can't you see that?"  Acts 21:12-13

There you go - Paul's "It's not about me" statement.  I love his perspective and attitude here.  His chief concern was obedience - not safety.  His chief concern was the life of Jesus and His purposes - not his life and his agenda. He would later say, "To live is Christ, to die is gain."  He had the proper perspective all along.  His eye was always on the "upward call of Christ Jesus." 

I know his friends were well meaning.  They knew that hardship and possible death awaited Paul.  Who wouldn't want him to stay away from such danger? 

So - this brought a question to my mind . . .

Does my concern actually discourage someones obedience?

WOW - that truly made me pause and consider my responses to others.  I think it is hardest with my own children and then with my spiritual children.  I don't doubt that their safety and even their comfort can blind me to their call.  I don't mind hardship for myself, but I really don't like to see it for those I love.  I do believe that I need to rethink that!

Each pathway looks different.

I want to be an encouragement to others to follow His call on their life - even if it brings hardship and suffering with it.  I want to be willing to follow His lead without regard for my safety or circumstances because He is 100% trustworthy in all things.

After all, the safest and most secure place to be is in the center of God's will -- even if it doesn't look like that from the outside.  Our extreme comfort and ease can be a very dangerous place.

Jesus' obedience took Him to the cross. Paul's obedience took him to prison and eventually led to his death.  The beauty of both is what God accomplished on their journeys.  We have salvation because of Jesus' obedience - we have most of the New Testament and some of the richest words of Scripture because of Paul's obedience.  His example of living all out for the Lord challenges me every day.

I want to live my life with such abandon.

How about you?