To Be or Not to Be

What would I say when I got to their house?  Is there a right thing to say to a mom and dad that just lost their little boy? Not knowing the answers to these questions I called a pastor friend on the way.

"I don't know what to do.  I don't know what to say." I told him.

He encouraged me to just be myself, just be there. .  

It is the case with how how God relates to us. God often calls us to be, before he calls us to do.

We struggle with this because we don't know who we are so we try to compensate by doing. Sometimes we don't know how to interact with an invisible God.  It is  uncomfortable at times.  We don't know how to be around the creator of all things.  So we respond with a desire to do something. To perform for him.  This has been a struggle throughout history.  This is the source of religion.  

I call it the "Rich Young Ruler Syndrome".  When a rich man came to Jesus the first questions he asked was, "What must I do?"

In the book of Acts the Holy Spirit shows up on the day of Pentecost. Peter gets up in front of a crowd of people. He explains the Gospel from the very beginning. He explains how Jesus fulfilled everything. How do the people respond to Peter’s message. They respond with “What must we do?” We can't be to hard on them. These people are used to doing. They were trying to keep over 600 laws to keep God happy. However, Peter responds, “Repent and be baptized.” Another way you could say it is, “Don't do anything. Just be. Just be identified with Christ.”.

God wants us to be,  more than he wants us to do. Here are a few other examples of where God tells to be:

““ ‘So you will be my people, and I will be your God.’ ””
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭30:22‬ ‭NIV‬‬
http://bible.com/111/jer.30.22.niv

“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.””
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭46:10‬ ‭NIV‬‬
http://bible.com/111/psa.46.10.niv

When Jesus called the first disciples in Matthew 4 he said “come follow me (literally: be behind me, be imitators of me) and I will make you fishers of men.”  Jesus says you be and I will do the making.

Notice the order on this next verse.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples (teach others to be behind me) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,(to be identified with Christ and teaching them to obey (to do) everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28:18-20‬ ‭NIV‬‬
http://bible.com/111/mat.28.18-20.niv

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬
http://bible.com/111/eph.4.2.niv

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy andblameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1:4-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬
http://bible.com/111/eph.1.4-5.niv

He chose us to be sons and daughters and that, in itself, brings him pleasure it says.

“Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “ Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭4:6-7‬ ‭NIV‬‬
http://bible.com/111/gal.4.6-7.niv

Again, God calls us to be his child not slaves.

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “ Abba, Father.””
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:15‬ ‭NIV‬‬
http://bible.com/111/rom.8.15.niv

Slaves have one purpose and one purpose only; Their purpose is to make their master happy by doing.  If they don't do the right things they get punished.  When they do the right things they are rewarded.  Have you ever met someone who has tried to live out their relationship with God that way? If I do the right things God will reward me and if I do the wrong things God will punish me.  I spent years trying to live like this. The problem is you always wonder if your good outweighed your bad. When something bad happens you blame it on yourself because if you would have been better God would not have allowed this. I

Children bring pleasure to their parents by being.  In fact, I can tell you from personal experience, sometimes children's' doings can cause pain, not pleasure.  We don't make our kids do stuff to remain our children.  They just are.  It is the same with the Heavenly Father.  We don't earn his fathering.  We just are his kids.  

So many of us get hung up on the question “What is God calling me to do?”  As a dad, if one of my kids came to me during free time and asked "What should I do?  Should I go outside and jump on the trampoline, do a puzzle, or watch TV?"  If all those options were available to them, I would want them to pick the option that brings them the most pleasure.  I don't try to dictate some point by point version of their activity. When it comes to big things I might have a little more input. We do the same thing with God.  Should I take the office job or the landscaping job.  God is like, "Well, do you like being indoors or outdoors?"  Should I live in Georgia or Colorado? God says do you like humidity or snow?  It is not always that simple, but the point is God’s will is not always option A or B.  Sometimes it is anywhere you want along line AB.  

Instead of “What is God calling me to do?” I submit the better question is “What is God calling me to be?”  We know from his word that he calls us to be free; to be like Christ.  He calls us to be patient, loving, and compassionate toward others. He calls us to be his witnesses.  He calls us to be transformed and to be set apart.  He wants us to be his heirs, his kids.  

So let's not have a spirit of a slave,but a spirit of a child of the almighty king.  Let us make sure we understand our proper identity, God's kids, so we don't feel it necessary to perform to get God's attention..