Not what, but who

As I raised my children, my one main concern was not what they would do in this world, but who they would be. As I see my grandsons becoming young men, the same aim exists. It isn't what we do in this lifetime as much as who we become. What we 'do' may seem very important to some but trust me on this one - - - we can 'do' all kinds of 'good' stuff and 'be' doggone 'wrong' in our heart while doing it!

That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead—into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God. (Romans 6:12-14)

Sin cannot tell us how to live - but it sure presents a whole lot of options! We find ourselves focused on the wrong stuff in life whenever we listen to the tug of our flesh - the desires to 'do' being the driving force behind that tug. We want our independence, don't we? We sometimes equate 'doing' with 'being', but there is something of significance we need to understand. We can 'do' without 'being', but we cannot 'be' and not 'do'. 

What we DO is a result of who we are - Christ followers, intensely in love with him, obedient to his commands, and listening intently to his voice. If there is any doubt that your 'doing' changes after making the decision to follow Jesus this way, just look at the myriad of examples in scripture and living amongst you. There is a movement away from grudgingly 'doing' the things we are asked to do - a movement toward 'doing' because who we 'are' creates the desire to 'do' things differently.

We focus on the wrong stuff sometimes. Too many times we get down on ourselves because of our disappointing 'actions' and focus very little on what it is within us that actually made us take those actions. If we were to stop long enough to just 'be' with Christ and get to know him just a bit better each day, we may just see our actions changing. Sin can't tell us how to live - but sometimes we have to stop focusing so much on what we do wrong and more on who makes us right. Just sayin!