First Baptist Church of Delray Beach

Launch or Embrace?

John 3:30

How do you see the future? Is it better or worse than today? Are you in suspense about it wondering if God is going to give you more or less? Be sure of this, God wants to give you more of himself in the future. Does your view of the future include more of Him?

Our relationship with God is like inverse parenting or better yet like a growing marriage. Jesus is not here to give us a good start and a great finish but leave the middle part to us. Jesus wants to begin a committed relationship that builds and builds and builds until we know and experience Him completely and perfectly. Jesus wants to embrace you not launch you.

The future is murky and uncertain and scary when our goal is to increase our own greatness. We tend to try and coerce God to grant us greatness knowing He has the ability to do so. We live hoping God will come through and give us things that will make Him less relevant. We think we will love Him more for His provision but in truth we generally love the provision more and the provider less.

John the Baptist understood this when he said, “He must increase, I must decrease.” How wonderful it is receive the reality that God’s goal is not to make me independent and great but to make me close to Him and His greatness. Whenever I make plans and prayers to become great I am out of sync with His purpose and will.

Do you see the future full of more God or more of your accomplishments and belongings? God wants to fill your future with adventures and experiences that make Him progressively greater in your life. Some of these experiences will be painful and hard to understand. Pain is often necessary to provide the space for His presence and activity in your life.

Reach for His embrace. Build your life to fit into His plans. Jesus will never deny one who truly wants more of Him.