Monday, July 25, 2016
506 - What Am I Suppposed To Do?
Spirituality Column No. 506
July 26, 2016
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
July 26, 2016
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
What Am I Supposed to
Do?
By Bob Walters
“And now what are you
waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on His name.”
– Paul recounting his orders from Ananias, Acts 22:16
Too often new Christians worry what
they are supposed to do. Veteran
Christians frequently worry whether they are following God’s will.
In the Bible’s most dramatic
conversion story, Paul’s first lesson was learning that to be in the will of
God he had to be in relationship with Jesus Christ. Do that
– connect with Jesus, trust Jesus, pursue Jesus, share Jesus – and you can quit
worrying about seeking God’s will or what to do with it when you find it.
Jesus takes care of that Himself. Just look at Paul.
Saul the Pharisee had been
enthusiastically – and in his mind righteously – killing Christians (Acts
8-9). While traveling to Damascus to
kill more Christians, Saul was knocked down, blinded and talked to by the
now-ascended Jesus. Why Saul? Consider both his legal position as a
Pharisee and demonstrated fervor for obedience to God. He was a natural evangelist, but grossly doing
the wrong things.
Jesus gets Saul’s attention, then commands
wary Ananias, the Damascus disciple, to go to Saul, restore Saul’s sight and
deliver the instructions Jesus has determined for “Paul’s” ministry.
It’s funny how so much of life as
we know it, live it and define it is based on our own sense of “doing”
something. Often it’s doing something we
ourselves see as a high and noble purpose.
Notice that Jesus starts His relationship with Paul not by having Paul
do something, but by forcing “Saul” to do nothing. He doesn’t want Saul just to obey Him but to fully
understand who He is and trust Him. It’s
this relationship that fuels history’s greatest evangelical ministry and
accounts for nearly half the New Testament.
When we look at the most formative
relationships in our earthly lives – those of families, spouses and children –
notice they aren’t built with a “to do list” or a system or a rule book. They are built with love. Looking back and aligned now with what I see
as God’s proper context, I didn’t have to stop and think, “I am a son to my
parents,” or “I am a husband to my wife” or even, “I am a father to my two
sons.” I was all those things because of
relationship and love. That should be
where we start with Jesus.
Paul didn’t have the luxury, at
first, of experiencing God’s love. That
came with time and understanding. Too
many folks today sit in churches wanting relief from turmoil, sickness or
sadness without first understanding that it is a relationship with Jesus that builds
the peace and relief they seek.
Build that relationship, and the
Kingdom is yours. What are you waiting
for?
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