FILLED
And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him, who fills all in all (Eph. 1:22-23).
One of the hottest toys in the ’80s was called Shrinky Dinks. They were thin sheets of plastic that could be colored and cut into shapes. Then they were placed on a baking sheet in a hot oven. Presto! In a few minutes, they would shrink down into thick little plastic pieces. We’d turn them into charms or tiny toys to trade with friends.
The only downside was that an adult needed to supervise the baking, although I will admit to breaking that rule. What can I say? I was hooked on them. In addition to being fun, I found they magically made me popular at school. I’d fill my pockets and use them to win friends and influence people.
But novelties wear off; newer and hotter things emerge on the market, and we turn our attention elsewhere. Back then, a popular saying was, “He who dies with the most toys wins.”
Have you ever been guilty of treating God this way? We shrink Him down in our minds or take Him out when we’re trying to get something. We use Him as a lucky charm or as a way to win people, and cast Him aside when our scheme doesn’t work.
Trying to reduce God to make Him fit into our preconceived notions or plans is a colossal mistake. There is no minimizing Him. He’s everything. He’s too powerful to be manipulated or confined to the limitations of our human brains. Our inadequate presumptions certainly don’t change who God is. On the contrary, they make us utterly ineffective.
Pastor and author Rob Wegner refers to this attempt to reduce Jesus to fit our ideas or lifestyle as “Little Jesus” syndrome. But just like God is too big to be confined by our imagination, there’s nothing little about Jesus either.
He’s so big that God put all things under His control–all things in Heaven, on earth and under the earth. He fills everything, everywhere, with the fullness of Him as the supreme ruler of the universe. Totality is expressed in the word “fullness” that Paul uses.
And the Church, as His body, is under the headship of Christ. He is our sovereign leader, not a Shrinky Dink savior. When we’re in relationship with Him, He grows ever larger.
John the Baptist had the right perspective when he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
What areas of your life reflect a “Little Jesus” syndrome? What keeps you from experiencing the fullness of Jesus?