The Center of the Universe

He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.John 3:30 NLT

Imagine being in 16th century Italy and hearing for the first time that the Earth wasn't the center of the Universe. That's exactly what Galileo asserted in 1632 and wound up in jail for it too. How scary would that have been for someone to denounce what you always thought to be true? In one moment, your entire perspective on life altered forever.

As I started writing this blog post on my crazy stressful semester, I realized what my problem is: I've been looking at this as if I'm the center of the universe. I mean, not intentionally, but that's what its boiled down to. Suddenly I'm not getting my way and I must be helped. My supervising teacher must make sure I know what I'm doing. My professors must help me when I'm struggling, answer my emails promptly, and always give me the right information. I am in no way to be disappointed, frustrated, or annoyed, at least, not for three months straight. I've lived under the assumption that if I put in enough hard work and kindness, the world would bend to my wishes. That's simply not true.

I'm not the center of the Universe.

The world does not revolve around me.

When I look at it that way, for the first time all semester, life suddenly starts making sense. Just like Galileo I no longer have to make fancy algorithms to account for why the orbital patterns are irregular. I no longer have to make excuses for my inadequacies or blame it on my surrounding circumstances. Sometimes, life just isn't going to go my way, and that's okay because it was never just my life to begin with.

 So tonight I'm renouncing me as the center of the universe. It may be scary, I may not like it now, but living in a world revolving around Christ has got to be way better than the world I've created. One day, I'll look back on this, just like we do 16th century Italy, and wonder how someone could think the entire Universe could revolve around such an insignificant center.

What is the center of the universe in your life that you need to replace with Christ? How can you do that this week and into the future?