How to stop being self-absorbed

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For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ …. Colossians 2:9-10 (NIV)

Perfect love desires communion, the sharing of life together, and so it cannot be expressed from a distance. God so perfectly loved the world that he came up close in Christ, stepping into the brokenness of our lives (1 John 1:1-3):

  • Into our emptiness, Jesus brings fullness and completion (Colossians 2:9-10).
  • Into our deficit, Jesus brings supply (Philippians 4:19).
  • Into our death, Jesus brings life (Ephesians 2:1, 5).
  • Into our separation, Jesus brings reconciliation (Romans 5:10-11).
  • Into our imperfect love, Jesus brings his perfect love (1 John 4:10).

When we know, and believe, that God is determined to love us perfectly, we can stop being self-absorbed and we can start being conformed to Christ (Romans 12:2). When we don’t believe God is determined to love us perfectly, we end up living like our best choice is to take care of ourselves.

And then, we become so busy taking care of ourselves that we have little time for authentic, transparent, loving community with others.

Why do you think we have been given the fullness of Christ? How should that change the way we live?

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This devotional © Copyright 2013 Jon Walker. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Jon Walker

Jon Walker is managing editor of Rick Warren’s Daily Hope Devotionals and a contributing editor at pastors.com. Copyright © 2017 Jon Walker. Used by permission.