But let’s start with the beginning of the old, familiar Psalm.

The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.^[1]

For His name’s sake.

“He ain’t trying to blow you up family…” says Mason, “God wants to blow God up even though He doesn’t get any bigger. People want to say, ‘I want to make God’s name great.’ No you not. God’s name is already great. You just show it through you being a conduit for Him showing the greatness of His name off, not you in your frailty trying to show off a God you’re too small to reflect.”^[2]

As for a modern analogy, it doesn’t get much better than that: “He ain’t trying to blow you up family… God wants to blow God up even though He doesn’t get any bigger.”

I sense I could leave it at that unforgettable rendering and call it a wrap. It’s certainly worth pondering, both for the reminder of our place and the reminder, not only of God’s greatness, but also of His infinitude, His eternality, His self-sufficiency, self-existence—well, you get the picture.^[3]

The fact of the matter is, we are so small and incapable that we can’t even reflect God without His help. And God is so big and gracious that He bothers to help us do so, both for His glory and our good. (And, truly, it’s no bother to Him, but a manifestation of His perfect and perfecting love.)

But we’ll not leave it at that. Coming back to how God helps us (and how we can get in the way), Mason says, “So God has to, through time with Him, nurture you as a glory reflector of the might of His power, and the might of His glory, for you to be a conduit by which He leads you into paths of righteousness for His name’s sake, so that everything in your life is for His name and not your name. That means His name is supposed to be on the marquee of your life.”

It’s a simple word, one that could go without saying because it should be that obvious. But it’s such an important word, one that bears repeating over and over again. We will forever struggle to decrease self and increase God. This commentary from Pastor Eric Mason reminds us that we can’t do it ourselves. We need to place ourselves at the feet of Jesus and learn from Him.