Day 4 - Josh Cha
Is there a specific Bible passage or verse that comes to mind in the context of “Less of Me and More of Him”?
Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
When I think about what it means to be less, Jesus' humility is at the forefront of my mind. Personally, there's no greater example than Jesus himself who could have used his authority to rule in total judgment, yet chose to be a humble king. This lent season I want to remember Jesus who always intentionally took the path of humility until he submitted on the cross, in order to be the savior that we desperately needed but didn't deserve. I want to once again experience that God's power is made perfect in weakness, and that submission to His will is my strength.
Briefly explain which areas of your life you find most difficult to surrender to Christ.
Self-sufficiency and dependability have always been difficult areas for me to surrender to Christ because of my desire to sustain myself without any outside help and to be someone that people can always rely on. Although they're seemingly good things to desire, I would honestly feel lost without them. Having control over my circumstances as a result of my own effort creates pride that's difficult to let go of when I forget the one who's really in control.
Share the areas of your life that have shifted from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness.
When I was in middle school I went to a church retreat where I heard the testimonies of various people who shared their broken pasts and how they became completely different people after they had met Christ. Up until that point I thought I had been a good christian and felt that I was meeting not only the high standards set by God, but also the ones I had set for myself. This led me to judge my peers who weren't at my level of "faith" and always seek ways to be right with God. Hearing people's testimonies really opened my eyes to see such a major part of faith that I was completely missing, and that was the grace of God. As one person shared after the other, I saw again and again that God doesn't just meet people who are at their best, but actually meets them even at their worst. I had been so busy maintaining my own faith that I looked at people from the surface rather than caring about what was in their heart. From that point on my perspective shifted from seeing only myself to seeing how Christ sees other people, and how he came not to save the best of the best, but the broken and the lost, including myself.
What are some practical ways you can display Christ to those around you?
My heart has always been pulled towards the existing relationships I have with my close friends, to really pray for opportunities to display Christ to them as well as be intentional in the conversations I have with them and to talk about faith as much as I can.