I don't know about you, but I used to relate to God as if he was just waiting around for
me to mess up so he could put me in my place.
And that place in my head and heart was one of humiliation, a place of punishment, because
I was operating from this inferior identity still of, well, I'm just a sinner.
But here's what I discovered.
God does want to put us in our place, and his place for us is fullness.
Colossians 2.10 says, we have been brought to fullness.
Not we will be brought one day when we go to heaven, but now we have been.
Fullness is our starting point, not the finish line.
The completeness of Christ is not a destination that we will someday arrive at.
It's where you are today, on your journey now, in the circumstance you're facing, in
the season of life you're in, because you're not an image protector.
You're an image bearer.
And there is a difference.
An image protector is constantly managing and performing and making sure that they're
playing the part.
But an image bearer simply carries what's already been placed inside of them.
Overwhelming peace, overflowing joy, relentless gentleness, enduring patience.
This is who God is.
This is his character.
This is the fruit of his spirit, and it's who he is in you and who you are now in him.
So your life is not about protecting your image.
It's about bearing his.