Owning Nothing, Enjoying Everything.
For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21
We need to settle once and for all concerning our rights and responsibilities. To accept Jesus as my savior means I will resign my right to justify my sin. And to accept Jesus as my Lord means I resign my right to myself – my time, my talents, my future, my all.
This is where the real difficulty comes – resigning myself. To surrender my rights to myself means giving up my rights to my reputation, my place of service, my possessions, and my rights to privacy from the needs of others. As a follower of Christ I know that my reputation will suffer. As a follower of Christ I know that He may send me to a place of service that is not of my choice. I know as a follower of Christ they will be divine interruptions in my privacy. As a follower of Christ my life belongs to Him, nothing more nothing less.
When I became a Christian, I felt a great burden taken off my shoulders because Jesus took my sin. But when I became a disciple of Christ, took away all my rights. I took on the nature of a servant fulfilling my master’s commands.
I must admit that many times I am touchy, irritable, and even selfish. And this is because I have not surrendered my all to Jesus. I have lost sight of what a disciple is. A disciple is a servant. As a disciple I own nothing but enjoy everything that the master allows me to use.