For this is how much God loved the world—he gave his one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life. John 3:16 (The Passion Translation, TPT)

It is human nature to be self-centered.  It is God’s nature to be selfless.  And it is His desire that we move from being self-focused to become more like Him.

To become selfless, we must deny ourselves.  Too often we believe that the more we have, the happier we will be.  However, I have found in my own life that as I think of others and giving to them instead of fulfilling my own wishes for more stuff and greater recognition, I experience the truth that it is more blessed to give than receive.

To deny ourselves, we must give ourselves away.  In other words, help someone else- especially someone that you know has no means of paying you back.  When you give of yourself to someone from whom you expect to receive nothing, you are operating out of a pure motive, a God kind of motive.  And the more you give yourself away, the more your focus turns away from yourself.  And the more your focus turns outward, the more you want to give.  Its a wonderful cycle!  The really great thing is that when you are giving yourself away to this extent no one can take anything from you. Because you care more for others than yourself, when someone robs you of something, you look at what they have taken and you decide to view it as seed you have sown.  When you see life in this way, no one can take anything from you because, in your heart, you have already given it away.

To be all that Jesus wants us to be, we give ourselves away, and, in turn, we find our true selves.  As I make the choice to become a giving person, I become more of who He wants me to be.  So, the more I give, the more Christ-like I become.  Jesus died to give us life, and now, as His followers, we give away the life He gave us in order to truly live.  Isn’t it wonderful to have the opportunity to forget ourselves?