Clay in the Hands

How do you know when you have made it?  Do you just wake up one day in full contentment and say, “This is it – it just doesn’t get any better than this.”?  I would suggest that this idea is something of which movies are made and fictitious novels are written.

I am not trying to burst the bubble that is the American Dream necessarily, but stay with me.  True meaning, true contentment and true fulfillment come only when we die to ourselves and live solely for our creator.  Unfortunately, that is a process of becoming.  It does not happen in an instant.  In fact, I don’t believe it happens fully in this life.

The very idea of growing in Christ is a counter-cultural concept.  In our world, we read and hear that we can get better.  We can eat the right foods, take the right pills, read the right books and better our lives.  We are told that if we do the right things, know the right people and play our cards right, we will “make it” – we will “be somebody.”  We chase after contentment by the world’s standards but the reality is, that contentment is as illusive and transient as a pot of gold sitting in a field at the end of a rainbow – it just isn’t there.  But if the deceiver can keep us preoccupied with chasing after mist, we will never become the people God intends for us to be and live with the meaning we were created to experience.

The counter-cultural truth is that in order to really live, we must first die.  We must die to our desires to “be somebody” and focus our attention on living fully in tune with God and God’s plan for our lives.  In a word, it is about humility.  It has never been and will never be about us.  It is always about God and God’s kingdom.

We will pick up here tomorrow, but for today, remember that God’s desire for each of us is a full and meaningful life, but that only comes when we surrender completely to God.

Be a blessing today.