Selflessly You: Sarah's Guest Post

Hey guys! It's Bernie's awesome big sister, Sarah! I noticed that Bernie hasn't posted in awhile so I decided that she needs another guest poster. Does she know? No. Will she will mind? I doubt it. There's a 5% chance she will, but let's be positive, shall we?

I've talked about Bernie on my blog before, but never on her actual blog. To enter Tessa's giveaway, I was supposed to do a post about "the importance of living selflessly in a Christian." Wonderfully, Ellie is one of the most selfless people I know. Why not post about her?

Besides being the inventor of silliness, Ellie also loves to help people. Cooking is one of her many talents. She literally makes lunch for us 80% percent of the time. She loves to make people smile. Whenever anyone in our family is hurting, she manages to make us feel better. Whenever I'm mad, (even if I'm mad at her, which happens rarely), I can't help but laugh whenever she walks up to me, wraps her arms around my waist, and sings, "Go to bed and rest your head 'cuz it's getting crazy." Yes, that's a inside joke that's too complicated to explain.

I have to admit, it's hard for me to be selfless, as it is with everyone. But in such a "me" culture, like the one we're living in, it has never been more important to be selfless. One of the reasons is that we will never be satisfied with ourselves when we put "me" first. Because no one, expect Jesus, can give us what we truly need, we will always be wanting more. As a result, many people, including us, will get hurt.

If we're all about us, we can't have the right relationship with Jesus. We will be constantly spending time with him for our convenience. Our selflessness will not only grow us in Christ, but it will help us be a witness for Christ. In our world today, selflessness stands out because, sadly, selflessness is unusual.

Now that I've written about why we should be selfless, I am faced with another challenge. It's is extremely difficult to be selfless. How can we put ourselves last when we, in one way or another, don't want to? It's hard for me to even want to be selfless. I care about myself. I'm sure you've had conflicting thoughts about this too.

The truth is, that without Jesus, we can't really be selfless. Because we are sinful, it's hard for us to be selfless. We might think of basic good reasons why to be, but without Jesus, we can't do it.

Jesus gives us a reason to be selfless. Not only was He selfless, but Jesus did the most selfless act that could have ever been done. He died on the cross so we could have forgiveness and peace with him and the Father. Jesus was loving, kind, and the perfect example of selflessness. Because He changed us, why wouldn't we want to be selfless for Him? But if we don't have Him, we can never be truly selfless.

So don't be mad at me, Bernie, when you find out about this. Thank you again, Tessa, for inspiring this post! Remember, Jesus is the reason to be selfless.

Everybody laughed at you
For doing what you’re supposed to do
Standing up for what is true
Got your feelings hurt tonight
You must be doing something right

[Chorus:]
You’re so unusual
I think you’re beautiful
You’re so unusual
Standing up for Jesus’ name
Just let them call you strange
I call you brave, unique and set apart
A masterpiece, a work of art
Living out what you believe
Being who you’re made to be
I love to see the way that you are so (Francesca Battistelli "Unusal")
This song is a great reminder of how we should live unusually for Jesus.