Each of us is exactly who we want to be in our relationship with God. We know Him exactly as much as we choose to know Him. We love Him exactly as much as we choose to love Him. It’s far easier and more convenient to blame circumstances, surroundings, and our own backgrounds as being limitations for our walk with Christ.
The truth is we are exactly the kind of disciple we have chosen to be. The only person responsible for how close our walk is to that of Jesus is the person we see in the mirror every day. We are responsible. We make the choices. We choose how close or how far away we are from God.
Nothing stands between us and God except for ourselves. The self is at odds with the soul. The soul was created by God in order to serve, worship, and love Him. The self is a distortion created by Satan. As long as we let the “self” dictate our actions, we will be walking away from God. Self has no place in the Kingdom of Heaven. God’s Kingdom exists to exalt Him and never us. Self seeks to get all it can while on earth. It seeks to acquire wealth and the trappings of success. Self is always looking for ways to prove it is greater than the “self” of anyone else. This stands in stark contrast to the humility of Jesus.
Jesus never sought any earthly rewards and never allowed any success that came His way to distract Him from His mission. No honors, accolades, or cheering crowds ever led him astray. Even though He was and is the King of the Universe, He never had any servants. He didn’t order anyone around. If anyone ever had a reason to be proud and justifiably arrogant, it was Jesus. But He refused, choosing instead to humbly serve those He had created.
Here’s the problem with self: It does not die without our consent. We can ask God to destroy it all we want, but He leaves the final decision up to us. We must truly will the self to die if we are ever going to live the life Christ created us to live. Until we choose to die to self we will never experience a close walk with Jesus. The self will always get in the way. Satan tries to lure us with the promise of independence. A life devoted to Jesus is focused solely on its own dependence on Christ.
You are what you choose. You are either dependent or independent. You are loving or you are selfish. You are humble or you are arrogant. You are a disciple or you are doomed. Ultimately the choice is up to you. God has called you to be His voice, His hands, and His feet in a world desperate for His love. You can be the person He designed you to be, but only if you choose to do so. You are what you choose. It’s up to you.