I have led an unbelievably blessed life. Grew up with parents who love me, work hard for me, and still do. Went to good schools. Played sports my whole childhood. Haven’t been emotionally or physically abused. Have never felt true hunger, never really been without food. Never been without a good place to sleep. Went to college, had a great time, thoroughly enjoyed it, and even managed to graduate! Took the opportunity to go around the world in a year to love and bless people, and have been greatly blessed in return. Not to mention having the internal, deep, heart and soul knowledge that God, The Creator, The Giver, The Redeemer, my Father, loves me. No matter what has happened in your past, what you’ve done, or what’s been done to you, he loves you and cares for you too, and was born a man, died a criminal’s death, and was raised to life out of that love.
Now, that all being said, there’s an interesting thing I notice. Many of my prayers to this same God have been for more. My life has been jam packed with potential. How much more potential do I need to go and do something with it? There comes a point when I have to take responsibility for myself and who I become. Whose responsibility is it that I become great?
If I say I want to become great, yet sit on my hind end all day waiting for the Lord to turn me into a great man, nothing is going to happen. If I say I want to be free from this sin or that, and pray for forgiveness, and then sin again, and mess up, and pray again, and feel sorry for a little while, and then screw up again, and then pray for more forgiveness, I shouldn’t expect to be free. Thing is, when you are a Christian, you’ve already been freed! You are free, be free! We are not puppets, so let’s not act like it. If you feel you are caught in sin, stand up! fight! You have a responsibility for your character, your integrity, the person you are. You are a great man. You are a great woman. If you want to have good character, ask for opportunities for character growth, and take them, even when they don’t look like what you want them to look like (probably going to involve sweeping a floor, washing some dishes, something service related..).
The book of Ruth is one of my favorite books of the Bible. In it there are multiple and varied illustrations. One we see is Boaz taking care of a foreign woman, a widow, who shows up in town one day with one of Boaz’s extended relatives. The law required that a male relative buy back lands that were once owned by that family, and provide for the women (as well as producing heirs). This would mean that Boaz has a choice to use his own money to buy land that has been lost, take on someone’s former wife, and provide sons for her, and then give away his property and his other sons’ inheritance to these new sons. That’s a big risk. Boaz’s generosity, servant’s heart, and willingness to take responsibility for others comes through as he redeems her and gives these women hope and a fullness of life the haven’t known. He takes responsibility. He is in a prime position to bring a beautiful and full life to two women who have come through much hardness and emptiness, and he takes that opportunity, even when other’s would not. He takes it.
Now there may be better illustrations out there, but the point is, if I pray, “God, help me to be the man you want me to become,” I must be ready and willing to answer the call when challenges and risky opportunities come my way, and I need to take responsibility to do what I can to make myself better. For me that means waking up earlier to spend time in prayer and rest with God. It means fighting back, speaking out, when temptation comes. Only Nate can make these things happen for Nate, I can’t just expect God to pull the strings and move my arms and legs for me, or my mouth. Only you can make them happen for you.
Who is responsible for your character? Who is responsible for your greatness? You are.
Who is responsible for mine? I am. Who is responsible for what happens in our churches? We are. Are we consumers or givers? Do we go to church, work, or any other place, asking what we can get? Or do we ask what we can give? Is our first response, “How will this effect me?” Mine usually is. I know I’d rather ask, “How can I effect this? How can I love? How can I give?”
Sorry for all the rambling. The point is this: God loves me. I want to love him back, and I want to love others. Am I willing to open myself up to God and let him change me? Am I willing to open up to others? Am I willing to challenge myself to change my habits, change my behaviors so I can better honor God and love others? No one else is going to do this stuff for me. I gotta step up and take hold of it!
