Leaving the Jerk

Scripture:
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Observation:
God did not wait on us to get something right; He reached out to us where we were.

Application:
I can be a jerk. I can be soft-hearted and very caring, but still the same I am also fairly gifted at being a justified jerk. I say justified because I am rarely a off the handle variety of jerk. I am much more of a pushed into a corner, had no other choice, I am only protecting myself kind of jerk. If I were given the opportunity to stand before a group of my peers I could unpack an argument that would easily convince even my staunchest critic to understand my point of view. Matter of fact, I get most of my material from other people.

When I see a homeless guy I am justified in not doing anything because he is not helping himself. When a person has been overly rude to me I am justified in putting him in his place because he needs to understand his weakness. When a person asks favors of me to the point that it becomes very inconvenient I am justified in saying no because I am becoming a door mat. All these things make sense to me, but I often wonder are the valid?

Studying the life of Christ is not always the easiest of things to do, but if I want to know what God would have me do the life Jesus lived is the perfect example of a life lived in perfect harmony with God's desires. I realize more every day that the path that He laid out for me to follow seems impossible. The more I read about Him, the more amazed I become at just how incredible a life He lived. I also can get overwhelmed thinking about it.

Prayer:
I want to walk in the hope of Your Glory. I want to live a life that is happy and filled with moments of celebration and joy. The problem is that I want to live life on my own terms. The fullness of joy that is found in Your Glory can not be found in my own logic. It is found by walking in Your will. This is one of the hardest prayers to pray, but I want to ask for You to open my eyes to life as You see it.

When I see a homeless person, I want to remember that he was once someone's son or daughter. I want to understand the pain of life that he must deal with everyday. I want to sense the desperation that must accompany life on the streets. I want to offer whatever it is that You would have me to give and not even worry about what he will do with it.

When I encounter a person who pushes all my wrong buttons and drives me to the point of losing my temper, I want to remember that though people spit in Jesus' face, beat Him, and nailed Him to a cross He still asked You to forgive them. He still gave his life for them. He never stopped loving people no matter what they did to Him and He always led them to You.

When a person asks more of me than I feel is fare, I want to remember the image of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. He took on the ultimate of humility to serve a group of people to whom He had already given so much. I want to remember all the times He sought time away to recoup but His compassion for the lost and needy compelled Him to keep on giving.

Doing any of this is something that lies beyond my ability. It is only through You working in my life that this can come about. Teach me to know the path that will produce this type of fruit in my life. Help me to celebrate walking in it with You. You know everything I need to live a life pleasing to You. The greatest desire that I have of You tonight is for You to show me how to leave the jerk that is my natural nature and instead embrace the beauty that is in Your Son.