Death Brings Life

Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
John 12:28-31 (ESV)
Jesus did all things for our benefit, not for His.  He is the model of success. We can guard our life, energy, time, resources, and more, only to find that we wasted them all. When we think of others and care for others, we invest in their lives. We do things for their sake, not ours.
When we care for ourselves, we need to do so in a way that does not limit our ability to help others. Moms and dads need to help each other schedule "alone time," or time with God, in ways that enhance family relationships rather than limit them.
If we learn to die to ourselves, we have all the time we need to invest in things that matter. On the other hand, if we try to do the "right things" and focus on ourselves, we will find we are doing too much, and will do nothing well.
Death always brings about new life. Dying to self brings about life in all those around us. Life death, for the believer, brings about a new eternal life. It is the way it is; we cannot change it.

 


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