“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’” John 6:35
According to my Bible search app, the phrase “I am” appears over 2,000 times between Genesis and Revelation. But how many times does God say “I am” in the Bible versus a human stating who she or he is? A quick scan told me that percentage is small. Even in the holiest of books, humans refer to themselves using “I am” more than God does. And, when He did say, “I am”, it was most often in relationship to us. “I am [to you] the Bread of Life, the Way, the Living Water, the Beginning and the End, ” etc.
Perhaps that is why He is so giving, forgiving and loving. He puts us first. He died for us so we could be restored into a right relationship with Him. His focus is more on His creation than Himself.
I wonder if each of us wrote down our words for a day, what percentage of our sentences would be about us, how much would be about others, and how much about God? How often do we point to ourselves and not to Him? In the dictionary, “I” comes before “u,” but it should be the reverse in our Christian walk, shouldn’t it?
Are we too busy concentrating on “I am” all the time? I am busy, I am the best at what I do, I am stressed, I am tired, I am happy, I am pretty, I am ugly. When the mirror is turned towards ourselves it is harder to reflect God’s love onto others.
Dearest Lord, help me to concentrate less on “I am” during the day and more on You, the Great I Am. Then refocus my attention onto the others You place in my path. Teach me to serve by thinking of “You” and “them” before I think of myself. Amen.
Take Action
Imagine what would happen if you woke up each morning, committing to place Jesus at the center of your thoughts and affections! Are you all in?