“God, change anything about me that isn’t about You.”

That’s a dangerous prayer. I know there’s a lot in me that probably doesn’t reflect the heart of God. I think I speak for just about everyone in the room when I say that all of us who are followers of Jesus don’t exactly mirror Jesus very well most of the time. There’s a lot in us that needs changing.

I think we do a lot of things for selfish reasons — we even do good with ulterior motives. But the beautiful part is that God still chooses to use us. Sometimes I wonder not why bad things happen to good people but why God allows good things to happen to any of us. After all, we’re the ones who rebelled against God and chose our own way over His.

But God still blesses us. God still loves us. God still promises to finish what He started in us. God sent His only Son for us while we were still sinners and died for us while we were still sinners. He didn’t wait until we got better. He didn’t even wait until we really wanted to get better. When we were dead in our trespasses and sins, God made us alive in Christ.

So maybe that’s not a bad prayer to pray. It’s scary but it’s the best thing God could ever do for us. God, change anything about us that isn’t about You. Make us like You at any cost, so that we can lead others to know You and find out what the eternal and abundant life looks like. Amen.