It's ALL about ME!!!
2 Corinthians 4:7 (New International Version) - “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
As I talked with my friend about an upcoming speaking engagement I expressed my worries. “What if they don’t like it?” “I’m not sure what to say?” “I want to have an impact”. Friends are good at telling it like it is. “It’s not about you”, my friend replied. His comment was a resounding cymbal that cut to the center of my heart: it’s not about me.
The Christian life is the art of responding to God’s grace without losing sight of that grace. I know for me it’s easy to see what God has done in the world and then have the urge to “go out” into the world on God’s behalf. The problem is so often when I “go out”, I “go ahead”. I imagine my spiritual life like a child who runs ahead of their parent on a walk.
But how does one “live in grace”? When you find out let me know!
I have learned something as of late in regards to grace; that’s it not all about me. What a relief! I believe this is some kind of first step we need to make every day for our whole life. When I know that everything is not about me then I know it’s about God. Knowing life is about God changes everything. We may say we “know” that in theory or believe that but it is a different thing to know that truth in our heart.
It is really an issue of identity isn’t it? Where do we get our identity from? I know that my identity is often rapped up in what I do, how I perform or how other people perceive me. It’s all about me. But that identity will never be secure, never be at peace. What if I do something awful? What if I fail? What if someone dislikes me or lashes out at me? Basing my identity on myself as a flawed and depraved human being in a corrupt world is bound to leave me insecure, anxious and influenced by the slightest breeze.
What I have learned is that I need to trust God and surrender my life over to God every day. As a Christian my identity is rooted in God’s love for me and this entire world. It is God who has created me, God who defines me and God whom I honor with me life. Placing my identity in God releases me from the burden to try and be God and please others.
I don’t know about you but trying to carry God’s load, trying to make everything right in the world, my world, is exhausting. Why not give our burdens to God? Why not give our work to God? Why not give our lives to God? For me, as a people pleaser, when I surrender my life to God daily the end results, the critiques or acclaim, the failure or success lose their grip. Why? Because now I am griped by God’s grace, God’s love and God’s work in the world. When our identity is formed by God we’re standing on solid ground. My life, my character, my “good deeds” and accomplishments are not solid ground. They will pass away like wheat in a field. But God is an everlasting God who alone can be trusted.
As I talked with my friend about an upcoming speaking engagement I expressed my worries. “What if they don’t like it?” “I’m not sure what to say?” “I want to have an impact”. Friends are good at telling it like it is. “It’s not about you”, my friend replied. His comment was a resounding cymbal that cut to the center of my heart: it’s not about me.
The Christian life is the art of responding to God’s grace without losing sight of that grace. I know for me it’s easy to see what God has done in the world and then have the urge to “go out” into the world on God’s behalf. The problem is so often when I “go out”, I “go ahead”. I imagine my spiritual life like a child who runs ahead of their parent on a walk.
But how does one “live in grace”? When you find out let me know!
I have learned something as of late in regards to grace; that’s it not all about me. What a relief! I believe this is some kind of first step we need to make every day for our whole life. When I know that everything is not about me then I know it’s about God. Knowing life is about God changes everything. We may say we “know” that in theory or believe that but it is a different thing to know that truth in our heart.
It is really an issue of identity isn’t it? Where do we get our identity from? I know that my identity is often rapped up in what I do, how I perform or how other people perceive me. It’s all about me. But that identity will never be secure, never be at peace. What if I do something awful? What if I fail? What if someone dislikes me or lashes out at me? Basing my identity on myself as a flawed and depraved human being in a corrupt world is bound to leave me insecure, anxious and influenced by the slightest breeze.
What I have learned is that I need to trust God and surrender my life over to God every day. As a Christian my identity is rooted in God’s love for me and this entire world. It is God who has created me, God who defines me and God whom I honor with me life. Placing my identity in God releases me from the burden to try and be God and please others.
I don’t know about you but trying to carry God’s load, trying to make everything right in the world, my world, is exhausting. Why not give our burdens to God? Why not give our work to God? Why not give our lives to God? For me, as a people pleaser, when I surrender my life to God daily the end results, the critiques or acclaim, the failure or success lose their grip. Why? Because now I am griped by God’s grace, God’s love and God’s work in the world. When our identity is formed by God we’re standing on solid ground. My life, my character, my “good deeds” and accomplishments are not solid ground. They will pass away like wheat in a field. But God is an everlasting God who alone can be trusted.
posted by Matt at
11:07 AM
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