What Do You Want To Be?

Growing up, I probably wanted to be a teacher in the beginning, but by second grade, I knew teaching wasn't for me.  After that, towards late elementary and early junior high, I wanted to be a fashion designer.  I liked the "in" fashions at the time, and was different than everyone else in my small town...I never, ever wore jeans, except to show my calves in 4-H and that was only because I had to.  Following the fashion designer years, I wanted to be a home economics teacher.  That was my favorite class, and even though I couldn't stand to sew and cringed at the thought of teaching it, I was willing to do it to pursue my dream.

A few year later, I began dating my husband.  I still planned to teach home ec, but the program began disappearing in Oklahoma colleges.  Only one had it, and it wasn't close to where I was going to live. I married, just went to college for the closet degree that went along with that field, and finished going a year and a half from graduation.  I've thought about going back some day, but mostly just liked to tease our daughter that I would just wait and go with her.  The funny thing is that she's more "done" right now with college than I am! Ha ha!

Deciding what to "be" when you grow up is difficult. There are so many choices! So many options! So many things to do that it's hard to even imagine.  I'm actually doing what I never realized I wanted to do when I was young - be a stay-at-home mom.  Staying "home" was definitely nothing that appealed to me. I was a "go-er".  How funny that now I'm thrilled when I do get to be home more than a day or so at a time!

Last night we heard a lesson about being a child of God vs. being a Christian.  It was actually very interesting and something I had never thought of before.  He talked about how that when we obey the Gospel, we become a child of God, but that to be a Christian means to be a follower of Christ.  I knew all of that, but think about this that he said:  We can be a child of God BUT STILL choose not to follow Christ.  We see it all of the time, actually.  One may believe, repent, confess, and be baptized, yet still not TURN away from the things of the world to follow Jesus.  WOW!  That is so true.  It is not just a one day thing.  It's an every-day-I'm-striving-to-follow-Him thing!  And if and when we fail, we don't turn away, but keep on going....striving to follow Him more closely.  When we do fail and turn away, continuing to grow further and further away from Him, that is when we are in trouble.  His grace is sufficient, but His death was worth more than just a one time commitment that it quickly forgotten.  Because He loves us so, He wants us to love Him.  And loving Him is striving to do His will.  It's striving to transform to His image.

Being a child of God and a Christian - a true Christ-follower - THAT is what we should all want to be! Nothing else in the world matters more than that decision.  No degree is more important than having our names written in the Book of Life.  No life choice is greater than deciding to dedicate your life to Him.  Living with Him in eternity is more important than any earthly destination.

What do you want to be?  I pray you want to be a child of God AND a Christian.  Faith is belief PLUS obedience.

You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. Galatians 5:4

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:1-2

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

IF YOU CAN

Last night in our ladies class, I was teaching about Mary, the Mother of Jesus.  The lesson also included Zechariah.  If you remember, when the angel, Gabriel, came to Mary and told her she would have a Son, she asked the question, "How can this be?"  (Luke 1:34) Mary wasn't asking because she didn't believe the angel. She was asking because she was a virgin.  To her human mind it was impossible.

Zechariah was also told by Gabriel that he and Elizabeth would have a son, John, but Zechariah doubted the angel's words.  He asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this?" (Luke 1:17-19) Because of his doubt and disbelief, he was made unable to speak. Zechariah's doubt was because of he and Elizabeth's old age.  To him, it wasn't possible for this thing to happen, even though the angel of God was telling him it was so.

The last example of the lesson had to do with a father and his son. The son had an evil spirit inside of him.  Let's look at the text:

Bring the boy to me.”

²⁰ So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

²¹ Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. ²² “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

²³ “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”

²⁴ Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

²⁵ When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

²⁶ The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. Mark 9:19b-26

Jesus asks about the evil spirit in the boy and the father replied, "IF YOU CAN DO ANYTHING".  Isn't this a strange question to ask Jesus, the Son of God?  I love Jesus' response!  "IF YOU CAN?"  Can't you just imagine Jesus saying this to the father?!  Jesus had been doing miracles all around, the people were thronging to Him everywhere he went, and even this father brought his son to him,  but then he doubted.  Jesus then said to the father, "Everything is possible for him who believes".

The father's response is great.  "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!".

What about you?  Do you BELIEVE, but still have UNBELIEF?  This was the point of last night's lesson.  We can believe in God....believe that He is in Heaven.....believe that He is the Creator.....even believe that He sent His Son Jesus to earth to live, die, and be resurrected, but even with all of that "belief", we may still have doubt.  We can believe IN Him, yet not BELIEVE HIM.  See the difference?  To BELIEVE IN God takes faith.  To BELIEVE HIM - that he'll do what He says He will do, to not worry, but give everything to Him, to trust Him to carry out His promises that we read all through His word - that takes deep faith.

If your faith is still asking, "How is this possible?", or saying, "If you can,"......then it's time to to get into the Word and closer to your Father in Heaven. Pray. Meditate on the Word.  Spend time getting to know Him.  Read about Jesus.  Look at how He lived on earth.  Learn to be more like Him.  If you believe, ask Him to help you overcome your unbelief!