I’m kind of adapting this from a lecture by Professor Peter Kreft from Boston College.
There is more to who you are than what you do. That is to say you are not defined as a verb, but a noun. Verbs do. Nouns are. Now, part of what a noun is can be characterized by verbs, but at the core, verbs only show what nouns can do, not what they are. Let me go so far as to say that the world sees you as a verb. Or an adjective. But they don’t see the true noun that is you. Let me explain.
The world judges you on your actions and appearances. To be even more narrow, the world judges you on your actions that they see, and the appearances that they see. So even if you lived a pefect life, many people would not see you for who you truly are.
Jesus lived a perfect life. He did not sin. He lived a life as an example for us to live. And yet, He was called a drunkard, a glutton, a blashpemer. He was a man of no reputation, to quote Rich Mullins. Was Jesus these things? No! Of course not. He lived full out for His Father, a blameless and sinless life.
I think Jesus’ first focus was on who He was instead of what He did. I think if He had focused on doing ‘things’ and letting that define Him, He would have done different ‘things’. I think that since He first focused on being who He was, Son of God, that His actions followed that suit.
When God calls us, He calls us to come just as we are. We don’t have to go “do” things before we can “be” saved. He works first in our very being, and then we can be prepared to do what He has called us to do.
I think that if we focus on who we are in Christ first, then our actions will be different than if we go first and do things to define who we are in Christ.
