Tonight I read a short book by Timothy Keller titled The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness, which
teaches about gospel-humility by examining the life, work, and writings of the Apostle Paul. Here is my favorite passage from the book:
“The thing we would remember from meeting a truly
gospel-humble person is how much they seemed to be totally interested in us.
Because the essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more of myself or
thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less… True gospel-humility
means I stop connecting every experience, every conversation, with myself. In
fact, I stop thinking about myself. The freedom of self-forgetfulness. The
blessed rest that only self-forgetfulness brings.”
Keller notes that modern society promotes high self-esteem as the cure to all evils, resulting in self-worth that is based on how well we perform in life's daily "courtroom" rather than in the truth of the gospel. We know that when Christ died, he paid the debt for our sin, bestowing His righteousness upon us. No longer are we bound to the expectations that the world - and ourselves! - places upon us. At the end of the day, it's not our successes and failures that matter; it's the joy we get from resting in the love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that on the cross He accomplished everything necessary for salvation.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is
not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no
one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” – Romans 2:8-10
[Keller's The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness is available on Amazon as a Kindle download for just $0.99!]
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