Trying to be a god is a lot of work

The biggest shift I’ve had in the Christian faith is this...

I’m not trying to be a god anymore. 
Instead, I’m becoming more of a human.

I’m not trying like mad through spiritual effort to ‘manifest my life’. Instead, I’m surrendering my control and am becoming better able to live the life I’ve been gifted (as imperfectly as I do).

In the Christian faith, I can be a human and let God be God. I can know that my relationship with God is good to go, not on behalf of anything I’ve done or haven’t done but because God said (and revealed) so through Christ. Therefore, I can turn to my neighbor and be of good spirits. I can be more like Old Fezziwig than Scrooge. I can eat, drink, and be merry while helping when and where I can. 

But my helping doesn’t come from a place of being a savior or pleasing an inner accuser. It’s never perfect. It’s never even CLOSE to perfect. It’s fumbling, at best. And that’s okay. It takes the paralyzing pressure of perfection off the table and allows me to offer a hand even if it isn’t ‘enough’ for my ego. 

Ahhh... In Christ, I can stop trying to climb any kind of spiritual, moral, or civil ladder. And I can float back down to Earth. I can lay down on the dirt. And I can be a human. A created child of God. 

This is the incarnation. This is Christmas. When God became a smelly, messy, non-helpful child in a manger. When God became the beloved. Like you. 

Grace & Godspeed,
Jonas