Let’s start with a definition:
Have you ever heard it said:
I’m not much but Jesus thought I was to die for!
On the one hand, if the statement is said sincerely then who am I to argue with it? Jesus did think you (and the rest of us) were worth dying for. That’s an amazing thought worthy of its own consideration. On the other hand, sometimes things like that are said insincerely. Sometimes they’re said as a humble-bag. They’re said as a way to sound self-deprecating, but in reality are spoken from a vain heart that really thinks alot of itself.
Here’s a reality check:
Jesus didn’t die for us because we were great but because we were wretched. His death was an act of amazing love (John 3:16) because, ordinarily, loving someone like us would be unfeasible. Jesus had to really, really love us, in spite of ourselves, to die for us.
That raises the question: Why die for me at all then, if it’s not because I’m wonderful enough to die for?
The answer: He died to show His glory. He died to show how amazing He is, and how incredible His love is.
We’re not great. We’re not special. We’re the opposite. We’re dirt. We were once beautiful and pure but we ruined that a long time ago. We stained ourselves with sin and spat in the eye of the Divine. The fact that He loves us at all, much less enough to die for us, is a testament to how amazing He is.
Maybe to you that’s an obvious fact, but there’s a whole me-first generation out there that has grown up with the idea that everyone wants to look at them, hear from them, praise them, etc. I promise you: God wasn’t sitting up in Heaven, scrolling through our instagrams and thinking “Man those people down there are awesome; I’d like to die for them because Heaven needs people like that!”
No. In reality He thought: “Those people down there are depraved and disgusting. They have no compunction to cleanse themselves and, even if they did, they have no means to do so. The only way those unworthy people are ever going to be right is if I go down there and die to make them right. And by doing that, I will show them how amazing my love can be.”
This is not a radical idea. This is what God has always done. He told Israel he didn’t choose them because they were great but because they were small (Deuteronomy 7:7). Why? So that He could get the glory for doing amazing things with such an insignificant nation.
In short, get over yourself. Recognize your unworthiness to receive the blessing of salvation and live the rest of your life in the shadow of the greatness of His cross. You do that, and you won’t live a life to be proud of, but you’ll live a life worth dying for.
~ Matthew