REFLECTIONS
July10, 2005
 
 
And, let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us encourage one another.
Hebrews 10:24-25
 
 
It’s not about Us
 
            “It’s not about you,” he told the young couple. How could they think it was about them, it was only their wedding he was talking about? The speaker was Craig Barnes, Senior Pastor of The National Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C., and he told story after story like this one, all with the theme, “It’s not about you.”
            Moses received the same message when he encountered God in the burning bush. God called Moses for an important project that Moses resisted with a litany of excuses. God redirected him by saying in effect, “Moses, it’s not about you.”
            King David set his sights on building a temple to the Lord. He drafted elaborate plans and he was committed to the project when God announced to him that the project would not be his. God redirected him by saying in effect, “David, it’s not about you.”
            Then there was Apostle Paul. He set about on a personal mission to eradicate all violators of the Law only to be struck down by the message that said in effect, “Paul, it’s not about you.”
            Jonah decided to run away and go on a fishing trip instead of following God’s instructions. When a giant fish swallowed him up and transported him to Nineveh, God’s intended destination, God had redirected him by saying in effect, “Jonah, it’s not about you.”
As I write this I want to run from a few things that are not going as well as I would like. Tomorrow is not likely to be as I would wish and I will likely experience some things that are not to my liking. But maybe if I listen quietly I will hear God redirecting me by saying in effect, “Richard, it’s not about you.”
            Ever since Adam and Eve, God’s people have pursued their own self-serving desires. Like Jonah, sometimes I would rather run away and go fishing. But I’m grateful that our loving God never ceases to remind us that, “It’s not about us.” It’s about Him. He simply asks us to serve Him by loving and encouraging others instead of ourselves.. He knows that we will catch more fish that way. 
 
You are the light of the world,
Richard Ì


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