Who Will You Become?

 

Trying to decide who you want to be when you grow up?

Lots of us are working on the same issue. We know who we are today. We know who we’d like to be tomorrow. We may, or may not, like ourselves as we are. We’d like to be better. We’d like to be a new and improved 2.0 version of ourselves tomorrow.

As an old Methodist, I’ve got some thoughts that might help you, so if you don’t want to wait until the weekend to gain some ground on this agenda, let me offer a few suggestions. To become the person you want to become…

1.  Give your life to Jesus.
As His personal friend – living an interactive life with Him – you know the Truth. In Him you have power over evil and the freedom to lead your life as He would lead your life if He was you. Serving Jesus means all day, every day, we’re working for Jesus – so our jobs are transformed into holy vocations.  The forces of evil are stymied when we consciously live for Jesus.

2.  Give your life to the Church.
Know this; the most important thing happening in your home, your community and your city is happening in the Church. Nothing on earth is more important than what is happening through Christ, and the Church is the Body of Christ in the world. With your friends in the church, under the proper guidance of pastors, you’ll learn how to “exercise dominion in life through the One, Christ Jesus.” Don’t forget your friends in Christ who are long dead; their encouragement and wisdom is available to us in their writings.

3.  Give your life to the spiritual disciplines.
Our methodical practice of spiritual disciplines increases our receptivity to grace – and grace is God acting in our lives to accomplish what we cannot do on our own. Of course, these practices are not ways of impressing God (or other people). We don’t do them to earn God’s favor. We engage them as avenues of knowing Christ. We need them as we learn to eliminate distractions, gain clarity and focus on our camaraderie with Christ.

4.  Give your money.
Start being generous with what you have and it will grow. Generosity is an essential dimension of love. We were made for generosity. Everyone wants to be generous – if they only believe they can be generous. The exercise of giving breaks the grip of our little kingdom and strengthens our connection with the soon and coming Kingdom of God.

5.  Give yourself to prayer. 
Prayer brings progress in a form suited to the wisdom of God. God intends to bless the world. Prayer is God’s plan for safely sharing power with us – so He can bless the world through us.

6.  Give yourself to others.
Christ-followers have a task assigned them; that mission is to know Christ and, knowing Him, to make the knowledge of God and life in Christ available to those around them.

Go ahead and improve on this list, but I believe – whatever you add to this list - these suggestions will help you become the person you want to be when you grow up. 

Romans 5:17  -  For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.