filled

there is a dangerous snare I fall into a lot.
if my suspicions are correct, a lot of people fall into it.
our thoughts like to venture there, and it's a pit that is hard to get out of.

it can be detrimental in two ways.

in one way it will serve to destroy our self-image, our self-esteem, and our self-worth.
in another way it may serve to boost the ego, swell our arrogance, and puff up our pride.
none of these things are conducive to becoming more like Christ.

this pit, this snare, it is called comparison.

it's almost instinctual; we size one another up unconsciously.
in all honesty, i tend to err more on the side of self-defeatist thinking.

here is the problem with that: i'm ignoring the image of God within me, which supersedes any and every flaw.

when i examine myself in the light of others, i examine myself as if by a dim and flickering candle.
it casts distortions and shadows on my being as the light moves back and forth; i can never see the full image. i am only shined upon from one direction, and the rest of me remains in darkness.

however, when i examine myself in the light of Christ, when i allow His radiance to consume and fill me, every imperfection is filled with His light.

His light could show that i am woefully inadequate.
His light could show that i am cracked.
His light could show that i am stained.
His light could show that i am tarnished.
His light could show that i am warped.

Yet

His light blinds anyone and everyone to my inadequacies.
His light fills my cracks.
His light washes my stains.
His light burns away the tarnished parts of me.
His light melts away the warping.

His light completes me, makes me new, makes me whole, and His light brings me endless joy, daily.

so next time we attempt to compare ourselves to others, let us remember who is within us. let us marvel at His goodness. let us fix our eyes on Jesus, and let all that threatens to ensnare us grow dim in His light.

"blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled."

matthew 5:6