Selflessness in a Selfie Era

Let's admit it. The era of the selfie has not revealed anything new about human nature. Within each of us is an inherited selfishness from birth (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). To declare that "He must increase but I must decrease" (John 3:30) is admittedly hard to replicate. In Galatians 2:20, the Apostle Paul's offers his perspective:

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

From this I learn:

1. My old self has been crucified. The gospel makes its statement in my life by declaring who's in charge. The old is gone, and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).

2. Yet my current state is the flesh. The flesh is still a part of me. There is a choice, nevertheless, to live by faith. We put to death the deeds of the flesh through the help of the Spirit (Romans 8:13)

3. I'm loved - and if that's not enough, Christ demonstrated His love by giving His life for me. And the Father so wonderfully reminds us that we are His - "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are." (1 John 3:1a) Knowing we are loved compels us to live not for ourselves but for Him who for our sake died and was raised (2 Corinthians 5:14).