Dear Cobham Park Church Family,
My little grandson loves to play with bubbles—not so much blowing them as popping them. Once a steady supply of soap bubbles is sent drifting through the air, my grandson excitedly chases them. He laughingly tries to catch, swat, or otherwise burst as many bubbles as possible!
Did you know that Jesus is also in the bubble-bursting business? I’m not talking about soap suds; I mean the “ego bubbles” of our over-inflated self-centeredness. Such selfishness naturally dominates our thinking before we even realize it. It demands its own way and thinks that it must be right. From inside an ego bubble, a person can’t see his or her own faults (although other people’s faults are clear enough—see Matthew 7:3-5). One’s own needs shout for immediate attention, while others’ needs are barely noticed.
Our egos soon become delicate as floating soap bubbles—highly sensitive to the slightest touch of difficulty, contradiction, or insult. This leads to constant anxiety and defensiveness. Trapped in our ego bubbles, we wobble and waft through life while tormented by constant self-talk: “How do I look? What are they thinking about me? I don’t have to take that! What’s in this for me? How do I compare with him or her? Who do they think they are?!” Our ego bubbles keep us from loving God and other people. And forgiveness? Forget about it. The same goes for joy and peace. In fact, if you want to know what Hell is, imagine being left forever in an ego bubble of your own making that never pops. “Weeping and gnashing of teeth” describes such an existence without exaggeration (Matthew 25:30, etc.).
Jesus came to free us from such misery. He arrived among us as a man without an ego bubble. He was willing to make Himself nothing and to die for ingrates like us (Philippians 2:5-8). My own ego bubble began to pop the day that I finally admitted that Jesus was right and I was wrong. And as I gradually learn the Lord’s ways, I’m slowly escaping my terrible selfishness (although I have a very long way to go). God is making a new heart in me by His Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26). Day by day, I am outgrowing my silly god-complex and beginning to live in Jesus. But this all starts with bursting your bubble. If you won’t let Jesus do that, you can’t be His (Luke 9:23)!
In His Love,
Pastor Keith
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