In the Introduction to Missing Jesus: Find Your Life in His Great Story, authors Charles and Janet Morris of Haven Ministries note that we decide to read a particular book based on our answer to one basic question: “What’s in it for me?” What we don’t need, they emphasize, is another book that’s all about us. While a book focusing on us may sound like good news, it’s actually bad news because it turns us back on ourselves.
The good new is what God has given us in Jesus, because we’re not big enough to be the center of our own lives. We don’t have the gravity to hold our lives together as the sun in our personal solar system. When we lose sight of Jesus, Charles states, life closes in: “Life gets small. The horizons of our hearts close in, the world shrinks, down, and the glory departs.”
Although Charles and Janet were living their dream life in the Rocky Mountains, they felt a little stale, insulated, and isolated. It was a small world. They wanted the excitement of living all out for Jesus and told the Lord they were willing to go anywhere- except Southern California. Guess where Haven Ministries is located??
When we live small, we reduce Jesus, consigning Him to the margins of our lives. As the authors conclude, we need to see His glory:
“We need Him to break into our hearts and fill us with a fresh realization of who he is and what he’s done for us so we can live large, liberated lives.”
Today’s question: How have you lived in a small world following your vocation loss? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Worthy is the Lamb”
