As babies, when 2 AM would roll around, we would wake with an achy empty feeling in our tummies, later to be understood as hunger pangs. Instantly, we would sound the alarm for the servants to come running to relieve us of this dire need. This was done, while totally oblivious to the fact that our parents were in desperate need of a good night’s uninterrupted sleep. We discovered, quite quickly, that our squawking worked well, even when there was a distressing wet sensation or when we no longer smelled of baby powder. Equally well, when the only need was the reassurance of arms embracing us. We were, then, totally, and age appropriately, egocentric. The whole world revolved around us and our needs. Of course, in an ideal world, the goal is that in growing up, we would come to realize that there are others with needs, and that there might be an opportunity, occasionally, for us to go beyond ourselves to meet those needs.
Spoiler alert: we do not live in an ideal world. We have, however, been given an illustrated guide for all things life and godliness – the ageless Word of God. Further, we have in Jesus, an exemplar, one whose life; his relationships, his actions and his teachings, show us how to be fully human: how to serve, how to be a blessing, how to lift others up. The Apostle Paul understood this, that Jesus’ life was a template for our own: “… consider the example that Jesus, the Anointed One, has set before us. Let his mindset be your motivation.” Philippians 2:5 TPT.
Granted, adulting is a marathon. It makes endless demands on our egocentricity, our sin nature inherited from Adam, our still-in-process personalities. It contains hurdles and leaps and ‘asks’ that scare us witless. It faithfully ushers us to the end of our proverbial ropes. It furnishes myriad opportunities to prefer other in-process personalities over ourselves – and, oh yeah, to forgive. So, we’re back to Jesus and his flawless example of adulting. If I may be so bold, if we are going to do this thing well, we really, really need Jesus! The fantastic news is that he knows we need him (let’s face it, we’re hopeless on our own) and he has chosen to make himself available by sending us his Spirit. The bottom line here (thank you, 2 Peter!) is: “Everything we could ever need for life and godliness has already been deposited in us by his divine power. For all this was lavished upon us through the rich experience of knowing him who has called us by name and invited us to come to him through a glorious manifestation of his goodness. As a result of this, he has given [us] magnificent promises that are beyond all price, so that through the power of these tremendous promises [we] can experience partnership with the divine nature, by which [we] have escaped the corrupt desires that are of this world.” Wow! PD
