He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
John 3:30
We spend a lot of time, energy, and money trying to enrich our lives. We try to give them meaning by making ourselves stand out. We strive and push our way into our places of glory, whether “glory” is our popularity, our social status, our career, or financial security. We do everything in our power to prove how capable, how intelligent, and how great we are. But Jesus never taught us to do that. He calls us, instead, to reach into the lives of others and enrich THEIR lives with our love. He wants us to give their lives meaning, as well as our own, by introducing them to the truest, most perfect LOVE...Jesus Himself. We are called to make Jesus stand out. To make orphans, widows, the poor, and the sick stand out. To make love and hope and grace stand out, and to make ourselves less.
When we spend all our time and energy making ourselves stand out, we make Jesus small. In OUR universe, we make ourselves the sun and Jesus just one of the smallish planets. Other planets in our universe-of-one might be money, possessions, status, career, family, and friends. But when all those “planets” revolve around us, Jesus certainly doesn’t get the glory. We need to flip that universe around. We need to put Jesus at the center. He is our LIGHT, He is the source of all that is good, and He gives life and light to everyone. (John 1:4)
As a follower of Christ, you have the power within you to change the trajectory of countless lives. When you put Jesus at the center of your life and fight for His purposes, His glory, and His Kingdom, you enrich others’ lives. You send His light, His warmth, and His love out to those in the dark, to those who seem too far for His light to reach, and you make Him greater. Nothing is too far for Him to reach, when you are willing to go the distance. And it only takes a little bit of light to see the truth of what has been hidden in the dark. Give Jesus His place of honor and glory. The greater He becomes in your life, and the less you become, the greater your joy. You are loved!