Becoming

The question isn’t so much are you parenting the right way as, are you the adult that you want your child to grow up to be?

– Brene Brown

If you are like most people your life is full.  Full of commitments, bills, activities, events, and responsibilities.  It might even be so full that you wonder some days how it is all going to work.  But stop for a moment and think about how your schedule, and life arrived at where it is today.  Often the question that we ask ourselves is what do we need to do?  I need to sign the kids up for baseball, drop off the utility bill, drop off cookies for the bake sale, and the list goes on.  The same goes for our jobs, our to-do list can grow to out of control proportions without even trying.  If you are really honest, most of us find a level of comfort in the list of to dos.  The list shows my value, the list shows I am needed, my schedule shows that I am productive, well-rounded, dedicated, and more.

 

Yet if we look to scripture it becomes clear that our to do list is not the lens that God views us though: 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV.  Grace tells us that God is not impressed by our to-do list or our schedule, or list of achievements, in fact those are not even on his radar when it comes to your value.  Instead you are God’s creation, fearfully, wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), a broken sinner in need of a savior.  So then what could or should we measure our lives by?

 

Sit down with your calendar, and your checkbook and instead ask this question.  Who do I want to become?  Or even better, who does God want me to become?  What kind of spouse, neighbor, co-worker, parent, of Christ-follower does God want you to become?  Now look at your schedule again, look at your budget and checkbook again.  Is your schedule setup so that you can become that person?  If you want to be a better spouse, do you have any time in your schedule to spend with your spouse?  If you want to be a more involved neighbor, do you have anytime to even see your neighbors?  Get honest about the gaps, and make a commitment today to make the changes you need to, so that you can become the person God is calling you to be.  Get honest about the value you find in busyness, to-do lists, and achievement, and hold that up to God’s promise from Ephesians 2, that you are saved not by what you do, but by what Jesus did FOR you.  So live into the freedom that comes with that, the freedom to not feel like your schedule or your work needs to prove something, and instead begin living the life that you believe God is calling you to, that God wants for your family, your work, and your personal life.

 

Pastor Bill