March 1

“Isaiah was a godly man before Uzziah’s death.  But so great a human being was Uzziah, that even Isaiah could not see God clearly.  So when Uzziah died, Isaiah began to see.  Who has to die before you can begin to see God as he is--high and lifted up?  Eugenia Price, S.P.S., 3/1

The answer to Eugenia’s question, of course, is Self.  Self has to die first.  We may think it’s another person in our lives that is coming between us and God, but ultimately, it’s Self.  Women will often put their children between themselves and God.  Men put their work.  And husbands and wives will put each other there.  But the only reason we do this is because Self is trying to be exalted--high and lifted up.  This is why Hannah Whitall Smith said we must deny Self’s existence because it is much too strong to do battle with.  We must keep our eyes fixed on Christ and His redeeming love, for this is where all our needs are met.  Self is no longer needed--nor desired--for it only separates us further from God.  Let us encourage one another in this endeavor, for surely, this is the purpose of the Church.  And in doing so, we will be strengthened and made available for God’s redeeming love to go forth and touch the lives of all those who hear and recognize their lostness.

“He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”  Colossians 1:13, 14