To Be or Not to Be…
Matthew 20:25-28 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
What do YOU want to be when YOU grow up?
Wishes and dreams and plans and bragging rights… what DID I want to be when I grew Up? Do you remember what you wanted to be? Did you make it happen?
Growing up, (some would say I haven’t yet done this) there were so many things I wanted to be… all of them included being the Ruler – the Boss – the Served. Unfortunately, everyone else wanted it too, and most were “better” at it than me!
Did you notice I used the word things to describe a position, a place, a person in charge? It’s a material world – it was in my day growing up, and it still is. We were taught and shown that to HAVE is the same as BEING. Pursue the bling and everyone will know you have arrived. “Fake it until you make it!”
I was encouraged with “You can be anything you want to be!” Therefore, if you aren’t – you must not have wanted it bad enough. How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? Proverbs 1:22
But, isn’t simpler to be simple-minded? It was easier being unaware that all is vanity and striving after the wind. What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted. Ecclesiastes 1:14-15
Isn’t it just easier to be the fool who thinks pleasure is the way to a happy heart? That the one job I can do (and no one else will) is to please myself. The profit of my all my labor will be… MY SATISFACTION!
It was easier! UNTIL… “I can’t get no”… at least NEVER ENOUGH of it!
And IF I am never pleased… Romans 14:12 each one of us will give an account of himself to God.WHOA!!!!
Not so simple being simple-minded now. Not so easy being a fool who thought she only had to please herself. My whole life of attempting to satisfy me – is only striving after the wind. Has anyone every caught the wind? Has anyone ever ruled over the wind?
Thank God, Jesus came to dinner!
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He brought to my table… the real deal, the no more pretending, the only position available in God’s Kingdom, the only position worth filling, the BE or NOT BE choice of… BEING His. The choice to Be or Not to Be His disciple. The answer to every question of “What do I want to be when I grow up?” – I want to be His FREAK!
Let me tell you… a Jesus Freak has the power of God around him/her! There is no BEING greater than BEING a child of God! John 1:12-13 but as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God.
There’s just one caution!
Scripture says to “Train up a child in the way they should go” … WELLLLLLL, when you become a child of God, He TRAINS YOU UP IN THE WAY YOU SHOULD GO! Ephesians 4:22-24 in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
It may turn your whole world upside down (whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant). You may wonder if you ever knew how to be or not be (2 Timothy 2:24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition,). Don’t worry. You didn’t! But God does. He will not just stand over your newborn crib and playpen, He will take up residence in your newborn heart and give you the pure milk of His word.
Don’t imagine it to be a simple tweaking of a life lived your way.
Expect it to be the opposite of your world training. Celebrate those moments when you “get it” and groan when you don’t. Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, (Philippians 2:14-15)
Whatever is required in the being…whatever you do… do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
We and our world believes that serving, that being a slave to others is demeaning. Servants/slaves are considered the lowest rung on the totem pole and therefore either unworthy of respect or an easy scapegoat for our violent ways.
God ways are higher, His thoughts greater (Isaiah 55:8-9). He considers the servant/slave the highest worthy of His highest crowns.
Deuteronomy 28:13 The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully
And what is the greatest commandment? Matthew 22:37-40 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.
According to God…
Greatness doesn’t come with might (Zechariah 4:6). Power isn’t perfected in strength (2 corinthians 12:9). Being the king of the mountain, doesn’t save you from the wages of your sins (Romans 6:23).
Love does!
To Be or Not To Be… Be.a.lover! A lover of God and a lover of your neighbor.
1 Corinthians 16:14 Let all that you do be done in love.
Yep, when I grow up, I wanna BE… like Jesus, who came to serve and to give His life a ransom for many. He saves a wretch like me! It will be my honor to BE.LIKE.JESUS!
**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.