Richard Rohr (amongst others, I’m sure) wrote that Jesus never asked us to worship him, but he did ask us to follow him.

For me, the challenge of Advent is not about a Sunday celebration, or remembrance, but it’s about a daily, constant returning to following this Jesus, and trying to live in the Kingdom of God, under the rule and reign of the Messiah, leveraging the power of the Spirit as best I can so that God can live more of His life in and through me.

Each morning, I wake up and surrender my life—my goals, my agenda, my hopes—to this Trinity, this Relationship.

But personally this surrender gets more difficult as the day goes on. I find that I subtly take back some power, and start to desire my own way.

For me the results of this little rebellion include…

… anxiety
… a short temper
… pride
… lethargy (thanks Enneagram 9)

Now, your results may vary.

But I feel like life has taught me that for the most part we humans are not meant to be gods, to handle that level of responsibility. Whenever I aspire to it, well I learn—once again—why it’s not meant to be this way.

So today, Advent is a great reminder that I’m not meant to be ultimately in charge of my life. To be human is to embrace limitation.

And that is okay.

Today I will try to return to the idea of surrender and submission to a Power Greater Than Me.