“And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;” (Genesis 12:2 NASB)
William Wilberforce dared to dream that people who had money and influence would use them for the good of their fellow man. His belief that every human was made in God’s image and therefore worthy of respect and kindness motivated him to fight to abolish slavery in England. Born the only son of a very prosperous merchant, he didn’t see what he was given as something for himself. Inspired by what God said to Abram about being a blessing, he lived open handed, desiring the blessings of God’s to flow freely through him.
As I ponder Wilberforce’s impact, and desire to emulate his life, I’m inspired by his selfless living. Scripture is filled with verses about surrendering our obsessive concern for ourselves.
Love is not self-seeking[1]
Each of us should consider the needs of others above our own[2]
Our attitude should be the same as of Christ Jesus, who emptied Himself unto obedience to God, even death upon a cross[3]
Paul speaks of the joy of being poured out as a drink offering for the faith of others[4]
Jesus tells us to love others sacrificially, even as he washed the feet of men who would deny him and betray him[5]
These verses, and others like it, require a growing trust that God has our ultimate wellbeing in mind, in spite of what may be happening before our eyes. The less we focus on us, the freer we really are. Imagine if all the energy we expended on self-satisfaction, self-justification, self-glorification and self-effort could be laid aside and funneled into something far greater, loving others? What if we learned to decrease, so that Christ in us might increase?[6]
I think William Wilberforce not only fought to abolition human slavery, but his selfless living brought freedom to his own soul.
The prophet Zechariah also spoke of freedom. Referring to the revival of God’s people in Babylon, he wrote, “O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing.” (Zechariah 8:13b NASB) At the end of the same chapter he wrote, “In those days ten men from all nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’” (Zechariah 8:23b NASB)
In conclusion: We, the people of God, are called to surrender ourselves to the care of our Good Father; to turn our eyes unselfishly to others. No longer are we to fight for our own happiness. In Christ we have complete Joy. We are now to turn our eyes, in love, to others; obeying Christ’s dying command to love other’s as He’s loved us.
As we love the folks in our paths, God receives all the praise. He Himself is our blessing. To the extent we trust our lives to Him, people around us are blessed.
Lord, in your presence is fullness of Joy. You complete us. We are in need of nothing but You. Help us surrender more and more and trust You with our lives. You are our Blessing. As we move, abiding in You, may we be a blessing to others. Amen.
[1] I Corinthians 13:5
[2] Philippians 2:3
[3] Philippians 2:6-8
[4] Philippians 2:17
[5] John 13:34-35
[6] John 3:30
Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures. Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post once a week. Thank you for reading.
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