Week 4 - One with Myself

I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

John 17:21

Wait. Didn’t Jesus say that we have to “die to self” to follow Him? Yes, he did. But to “die to self,” you need to have a self to die to first.

God is not asking you to hide your failures and just swap in new behavior plan. He is actually asking you for a lot more. He wants you to be healed and whole. He wants you to be well, at the top of your game. And then die; and then get empty. That is the sacrifice of love – not the leftovers of yourself.

The self that God gave you – regardless of what kind of shape it may be in at the moment – was intended to be a container to carry the glory of God. The Apostle Paul put it this way:

“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7)

If parts of you are crushed and broken, God will help you – because He cherishes you, and because He knows that you have amazing potential. Your healing is not the end of your story; it is just barely the beginning. But it is a necessary beginning. Get into the transforming presence of God so that He can change you into the whole of who He has always intended you to be. Then, you can shine as His follower and build up others.

The Real Question: Am I “one” with the self God has given to me? What places in me need the healing touch of God, to bring Him glory?

Family Talk: Ask your kids a series of questions leading to a key point.

Q: What does the Bible say about everything that God made? It is good, beautiful, amazing, and more!

Q: Where did you come from? Who made you? A: God

Q: What does that say about you? A: I am good, beautiful and amazing!

God made me, and that makes me very special!

ONE in Prayer: God, I thank You for the gift of myself that You have given to me. I ask for Your help to become aware of the places in me that still need Your healing, restoring touch. I pray that You would reunite my life to Your hope for who I can be in the world, for the glory of Your name. Amen.