The journey of unbecoming
Untangled comes from a single Greek word, kenosis. It means emptying. It describes what Christ did for us, and the way He invites us to follow Him.
Made in His Image
Restored to His Image
The story moves in this order, which is why the steps are numbered.
Created
You began on purpose, made in the image of God. Before anything was added to you, you were already loved, already known and already His.
“So God created man in his own image.”Genesis 1:27 (ESV)
Tangled
Then life pressed in. Careless words, deep wounds, the pressures of the world and our own choices all left their mark. Little by little we came to believe things about ourselves that God never said, and we wrapped those beliefs around us like thread around a ball. In time the tangle feels so familiar that we simply call it who we are.
Called
When we meet Christ, He calls us to follow Him and to become more like Him. He does not ask us to try harder at being the tangle. He invites us to let Him undo it.
Emptied
This is kenosis. Christ emptied Himself for us, and Paul invites us to share His mind. For us, the emptying looks like letting go: of the lies we have believed, the false identities we have partnered with, and everything we were never meant to carry.
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”Philippians 2:5 to 7 (ESV)
Untangled
As the false falls away, the true comes into view: the person God made, with the purpose He gave. Not someone new to become, but someone original to return to.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)