I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20).

Before I begin writing a Connect Devotional, I like to read the assigned verses in different translations. My 13-year-old daughter was sitting next to me on the couch as I did so this time, so I read a few aloud and asked for her thoughts.

“What do you think ‘I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me,’ means?”

“Well, I think it means sacrifice. Like giving up something I want to do for what God wants me to do. I feel like doing that gets me closer to God’s will. But I really don’t know because I’m only 13, and I haven’t been asked to move to Africa to help the orphans or anything yet!”

Most of us aren’t currently living in Africa helping the orphans, so perhaps we can relate?

Our minds tend to go to the “big asks” by God of us and our grand acceptances in return. “I will truly die to self when I move overseas to help the impoverished!” The “big asks” do happen, and when we feel called to do something monumental for God, perhaps even helping the orphans in Africa, He honors that sacrifice. 

However, the daily choices we make add up to something monumental, and they shouldn’t be discounted. Every time I choose to let go of a past hurt and forgive, I die to self and Christ lives in me. Every time I choose to meet anger with love, I die to self and Christ lives in me. Every time I open my home, hands, and heart to another, I die to self and Christ lives in me. The more I make these choices the more my perspective shifts, and I begin to see the world around me through His eyes instead of my own.

My daughter and I continued to talk about how we can always strive for capital “G” Greatness in God’s name and how the decisions we make on a daily basis can steer us in the right direction. We talked about examples in my life and hers that might help shift our perspectives from our own to God’s, and now it’s your turn! What is one choice you can make today that will begin to shift your perspective to His?