lystn

Hebrews 5:12 NLT

'You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.'

As I gaze back over my Christian life and my walk with God, I have not progressed as far as I would like.

Recently, during a business planning meeting, as we sketched our future, I became acutely aware that I could hear a lot of my own voice. I also realised I was quite forceful in pushing my thinking forward. I was reminded of previous meetings in which that same insistent tone had failed to win me many friends. It wasn’t that I was not sincere; it was that my tone and insistence did not communicate gentleness in creating space for others to speak or to challenge my thoughts. I went quiet for a while as I attempted to adopt a gentler approach while still representing my thinking.

Looking back, I can identify many distractions that have delayed my journey towards God’s heart...I have positively attempted to prove effective in ministry in various contexts. At times I’ve tried too hard, or approached it from a need to satisfy my human aspirations clothed in spiritual language and missional intent. In all honesty, it was all about me.

I have struggled to accept that who I am is who God made me, and there is nothing I can add to God’s loving acceptance of my fractured self. I seem to want to clean my own act up. But it is cleaned through the work of Christ alone, and I can add not one dab of polish to brighten that reality.

QUESTION: What progress in character and understanding can you see in your own journey as a disciple of Jesus?

PRAYER: Lord, help me to know you and be like you more and more each day.