Does God want us to become “less”?

How often do well meaning believers say we need to die…we need to become less so God can become more?

If He loves us so much that He would go through unimaginable agony to bring us back into relationship with Him, why would He want us to be less?

And what do we mean by that phrase? Or all the others that convey that only God is good and compared to Him we are bad.

If we are made in His image, and are clothed in Jesus, how can we be anything but good?

I’m not denying that we have stuff to work through, but why do we think it’s holy to put ourselves down…as if that is glorifying God?

What are we supposed to become “less” of? All our sinful parts? Weren’t those taken care of at the cross?

Maybe we believe at a core level that we are inherently bad. That the greater part of who we are really isn’t acceptable to God. So we are trying to “less” those parts of us away. Or we’re just wanting Him to know that we haven’t forgotten that we’ve got “stuff.”

But what would happen if we just took those messy parts of ourselves to God?

Bringing Our Junk to God

This morning I had an irritating phone call. I didn’t get the answer I wanted to a business situation. And then I sat down to write my blog. Recognizing that there wasn’t going to be a lot of goodness flowing from my finger tips, I closed my eyes and imagined myself climbing onto God’s lap.

For whatever reason, I was about three years old. I climbed onto his lap, crossed my arms with a scowl and jammed my thumb in my mouth.

God kindly asked what was wrong. I pulled my thumb out long enough to say in a pouty voice, “It’s not fair!”

He asked what the problem was and I pointed and said, “All of them!” Meaning, all those people that treat me unfairly and keep me from getting my way (made sense why I was a toddler!).

He just hugged me and had a beautiful blue butterfly land on my nose and I started laughing. Then he gently addressed the grown up me and spoke to my mind, “Will you give up your rights for Me?”

Uh, yea! Now that I’m out of my toddler funk and back into relationship with the One who adores me and protects me, it’s not hard to give up my rights to selfishness.

Maybe instead of trying to become less, we position ourselves to become more. More fully who He designed us to be. He gets the glory for that. For how much love we have, for how kind we are. Because it’s Him flowing through us.

I wonder if we think we need to become less out of a pure heart that doesn’t want to become prideful or displease God. But the thoughts that create that belief system aren’t given to us by God.

It pleases Satan to lie and plant thoughts that devalue us and tell us it’s wrong to like ourselves.

Do we want our kids to becomes less so we become more? Or do we take joy in the beautiful, messy and delightful individuals they are becoming?

Bill Johnson once said, “God doesn’t say, “I want none of you. But I want all of you covered by all of Me.”

There is nothing prideful in delighting in the delight God has for us.

Prayer

Jesus, please give me a revelation of the Father’s goodness and His delight in me, so I can fully celebrate and enjoy who He is and who I am in Him. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Angry ‘Ranga by Jill Watson via Flickr

Sunset via Pixabay