It’s about time we all “got over ourselves;” why do we assume we are the center of the universe? I realize that no one ever will seriously say the world revolves around them because believe me I’m not about to do it either. HA if you think I’m getting up in front of a crowd and informing them that I’m the most important person in the room then you are sorely mistaken, but isn’t that how we are living our lives?
Maybe we don’t verbalize our great love for ourselves but we show it by our actions. We spend a ridiculous amount of money on clothes, food, and cars because we have to take care of ourselves. We pamper ourselves with a day at the spa or a round on the golf course. Don’t get me wrong I love doing these things, shopping is one of my favorite hobbies, but we get so caught up in ourselves that we forget who made us; we forget that the point of our existence is to bring God glory.
I’m reading a book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan, in it he talks about having an abandoned love for God that transcends anything we’ve ever imagined; a love that changes our very thought process so that we are no longer consumed with our lives and our small world but we are able to see who God really is so that we can get a glimpse of His bigger picture. If we, for one millisecond, are able to get a fraction of an idea of who God really is, and I don’t mean the God we have placed in a convenient box that we take out while we’re at church and occasionally in the comfort of our homes, I mean the God who made the world and everything in it; the God who sent His son to die on a tree for past, present, and future sins of the world; the God who gives us the best He has for us simply because He loves us. When we see this God, only then will we realize our smallness in comparison. Not until we’ve realized our nothingness can we ever take our focus off of ourselves and place it on the only One who matters.
By shifting our focus, our lives then begin to look like those patriarchs of the Bible, ones who did whatever it took to follow Christ’s call to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…and love your neighbor as yourself.” Understanding the complexity of who God is helps remind us that our “one woman (or man) show” has no place in His ultimate plan. He allows us each to have a small role but we have to understand that His will is what will be accomplished; love the world like He loves the world.
As I thought about this I began asking myself the tough questions: how much would my bank statement change if I was truly loving those in need, what would my prayers sound like if my mind was on lost souls, would it really be a struggle to make it to church every Sunday morning, night and Wednesday night? I challenge you, whoever God has lead to read this, to question what impact you can have on the people around you. We all have people in our lives that need Jesus but how many times have we shied away from sharing…here’s our chance to show people that unconditional love God has for everyone and isn't that what we're all looking for?
October 29, 2008
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