“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”- Luke 9:24
“Reaching the end of me is a daily journey I must make because it’s where Jesus shows up and my real life in him begins.”- Kyle Idleman
The End of Me: Where Real Life in the Upside-Down Way of Jesus Begins is the latest book by Kyle Idleman, teaching pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. In the Introduction, Pastor Idleman observes that most Christians can point to a significant event where Jesus became real to them. Yet, reaching the end of me is a daily, difficult journey- because “me” doesn’t want to go there.
The first section of the book is based on four beatitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Pastor Idleman offers this summary:
” . . . so much of Jesus’s teachings seem oppositional to what we have come to accept. And the life he invites us to is not just counter-cultural; it’s counter-intuitive. More often than not it flies in the face of what feels right. . . . Jesus will show us that blessings begin and fulfillment is found in the least likely place- the end of ourselves.”
It’s impossible to take the narrow, difficult path not too many choose if we bring Me along. But choosing that narrow path leads to real and abundant life.
Today’s question: Was there a significant moment in your life when Jesus became real in your life? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The poor in spirit”
