MINE...

You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.
-- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

It's one of my favorite scenes in Finding Nemo 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-3e0EkvIEM

Mine...

The seagulls seem to know only one word: MINE. And they repeat it in staccato machine-gun like fashion. Mine... mine... mine... It is a funny scene. We laugh... then get slightly irritated... then realize...

We are seagulls!

What is it that we consider "MINE?"
My house... my car(s)... my career... my kids...?
My life?

There are a couple hard realities within the true Christian life (and the following is certainly not an exhaustive list):

1) Nothing is truly ours. (We might argue that our faith is ours - our relationship with God. And though it is a gift, I'll concede on this point.)
2) Everything - in this life - is temporary. (See #1.)
3) It's not all about us. (Ouch!)

No, not even our lives are our own. A ransom was paid for us. A price - a high price - was offered up. A sacrifice was made. And we were purchased with the price of Christ's blood.

The Apostle Paul was a great example of one who understood that nothing - his stuff, or even his very life - was his own. And he learned this from the one who was the perfect example of sacrifice.

Jesus said:
For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve; and to give his life as a ransom for many.     -- Mark 10:45

No, we are not our own... we are not the owners of self. Mine... mine... mine... is the cry of the selfish, the self-absorbed, or at best, the immature. (And it is often what I exclaim; whether out loud or with an internal scream.)

God created us for a purpose. His purpose. And when we realize and rest in the truth that we are his - completely - we experience joy. Not the temporary happiness of stuff (Mine!), but true joy.

God, I am yours...

For now...
D