Limitations. Reservations. Even questions.

We tend to hit the “pause” button in our lives. Jesus starts moving, and we start moaning, “I’m not ready!” We tend to tell God what He can do in our lives. We hold on to something in our past with clutched arms, shaking our heads firmly.

In the book of John, at the end of chapter 2, John the Baptist’s disciples are complaining about Jesus and His disciples “stealing” people. Their ministry was just as important. Was it not? John had fought so hard for recognition and validation. But Jesus had brought new direction. He was shifting the focus. John noticed it when he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” No longer was it merely baptism of repentance but a purifying of the heart.

If you notice, there’s a theme among both groups. Some, if not most, of John’s and Jesus’ disciples had this concept of joining a sociopolitical movement or revolution. They wanted change, and now they could be the grassroots. They’d be a good, moral Jew pursuing freedom for worshipping their God. Yet, in doing so, they really missed the whole principle Jesus was bringing: reformation.

How often do we wish for growth and change yet run away from the chisel? How often do we wish for His leading but give Him a time schedule, blocked out perfectly for our convenience and comfortability? We hold on to our patterns of thought or limiting mindsets when Jesus wants to bring freedom from those burdens. We think dying to the flesh means sacrificing our personality and becoming a tool of religion, when truly it means to become so decluttered of our selfishness that we see others purely and with compassion.

Jesus wants to bring a new thing to your life. He wants to restore and redeem, but if you’re too worried about the numbers and popularity, you’ll start to echo the words of John’s disciples:

So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.

John 3:26 (NLT)

Will you echo John’s words and hold God’s blessings with an open hand?

John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success.

John 3:27-29 (NLT)

Growth requires change. It requires pruning. It necessitates development.

Will you stay immature or embrace Him?