How to Lose yourself to find the Joy of The Lord
It seems like such a simple commandment that Jesus when he instructed us in Matthew 5:7 CoC to "... he who takes not his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. He who seeks to save his life shall lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake shall find it." I have often read this as self service to others, conforming my desires to the higher will of God's instructions when interacting with others. This however, proved to be only partially successful. Bitterness, resentfulness, and sometimes an endless aching pain from being unseen by others for my "efforts" would wound me. I'd find myself harboring hypocritical feelings towards people that I would help. So I puzzled over why this was so. I checked internally, and found a great surprise waiting: I WAS BEING SELFISH. Seeking only to give due to a commandment when it is not motivated by higher love of God, SELF, and others, is faulty. At its core it is unstable and cannot sustain itself. It is the...