Me-We (Part 2)

​Most of the world lives in a constant state of war and unrest, and more and more we see that becoming true of the U.S.

When our focus becomes “Me” and we stop seeing each other through God’s eyes, we become unkind, unforgiving, hateful, resentful, jealous, selfish, and self-centered.
When God is taken out of our world picture, evil grows like a weed. Weeds are hard to get rid of, and once they gain a strong hold in the gardens of our lives, they multiply exponentially.
Our life lesson today comes from Genesis 3 where we find the first man and women that God made ꟷAdam and Eve. God placed them in the most perfect garden on earth, with every imaginable need or want being met by their creator God. They could walk and talk to God at any time.
From our point of view, they had it all. But just like us, their contentment slipped away, and they wanted what they could not have. The big “Me” appeared on the scene – Satan himself! He planted doubt, confusion, and deceit into their minds and hearts. Think a moment about it: they chose a piece of fruit over their Creator and God. Having been deceived and blinded, they began to question the truth!
The serpent said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
But Satan retorted, “For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. If I could put it another way, she looked, she took, and then forsook the truth!
Sin often starts with questioning God - questioning His wisdom, His sovereignty, His truths, and His commands. The “Me” starts believing the lie – that there is greater joy and success in doing one’s own thing, in one’s own way!
We forget Romans 1:18-23 –
“The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1:18-23)
The “Me” starts by saying “no” to God and “yes” to the “Me!”
Dr. Wiersbe, on commenting on Romans 1 and 2, puts it this way:
“The whole of man’s inner being is controlled by sin; his mind (‘none that understands’), his heart (‘none that seek after God), and his will (‘None that doeth good’). Measured by God’s perfect righteousness, no human being is sinless. No sinner seeks after God. Man has gone his own way and has become unprofitable both to himself and to God. It is only when we stand silent before God as sinners that He can save us. As long as we defend ourselves and commend ourselves, we cannot be saved by God’s grace. The whole world is guilty before God – and that includes you and me!”
“Before we knew the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we were spiritually dead by nature. Dead in our trespasses and sins in which we walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind.”
The ”Me” not only fractures our relationship with our Father God but with others who are in our lives. The “Me” sin keeps our fellowship with God at a distance and ultimately separates us from others. If left unattended, the “Me” becomes a garden of thistles. Thistles grow deep, and if not totally removed, the roots spread, and the weed grows bigger, wider, and stronger. It produces what might seem like a beautiful flower, but if picked, stickers will cover your hands causing pain, itching, and annoyance! Oh! What a perfect picture of sin and the “Me” in our lives!
How do we change this process? Only through total surrender! The “Me” has to be turned upside down in order to form the “We.” What would that kind of surrender look like? It is about getting on our knees, acknowledging we are lost, wrecked, damaged, incomplete, and in need of a new beginning! Total surrender is about choosing to resist the enemy of our lives – Satan – and ceasing to listening to and following his lies. It is an absolute resolve we make with God to resist sin, the world, and the devil.
“Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but will with the temptation provide a way of escape.” (1 Cor. 10:13)
The power to do this comes only from the Holy Spirit! When we chose to totally surrender our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ, the working out of our salvation takes place.
“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the Word of life.” (Phil. 2:12-16a)
As I close this blog on the “Me” verses and the “We” in our lives, I want to share a true story that truly shows us what this should look like in our own lives.
During the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the early Church and Christians suffered bitter testing, persecution, and scores of deaths. His greatest delights were found in the severest forms of persecution and torture of the believers. Those that refused to pay homage to him or bow before him, he punished, often even to death. History tells of one particular occasion when forty stalwarts of the faith had refused to bow before him. He called them to him, surrounded by his army of men, and shouted to the forty, “Strip to the skin.” When they had done so, he commanded: “Go stand on that frozen lake until you are willing to abandon your God.”
Forty men marched together to the given position on the frozen lake. In a bitter, winter storm, they stood firm. Soon their voices united in a hymn of the early Church: “Christ, forty wrestlers have come out to wrestle for Thee: to win for Thee the victory: To win for thee the crown.”
The bravery of the men was a sight to behold. The emperor waited, certain that soon the agony of the ice and the humiliation would cause the men to break away and worship him. After a time, one of the forty stumbled out from the human ice-line, and on numbed feet made his way to the emperor and fell before him. The other thirty-nine held fast, still singing in spite of their torment.
Watching from the sidelines was the captain of the emperor’s guard. He had never witnessed such endurance and bravery. When he saw the man desert, he quickly rent his clothes from his body and took the place of the missing man. His courage encouraged the weakened men and together they held fast. The early dawn found their frozen bodies on the ice.
(Story from Dawn of Devotion by Sarah Anne Jepson)
This true story is the ultimate picture of a man who turned the “Me” of his life to the “We.”
When the “Me” of our lives is surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior, peace will arrive. We are set free, to be all that God wants us to be. Surrender, truth, and righteousness turn the “Me” into the “We.”
“Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us in Christ Jesus and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.” (2 Tim. 1:8-9)