Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Being, Not Doing

This being and not doing concept has been so difficult for me to grasp. I know my thinking is flawed. The Bible clearly spells it out; from the Old Testament "Be still and know that I am God", Psalm 46:10, NLT,
to the New Testament "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast", Ephesians 2:8-9, KJV.

This subject is timely to me right now for two reasons. First, I have tendinitis in my right hand and I have to rest it as much as possible. This means I can't paint, do writing and exercise like I want to, and various other things. I'm not good at just being. I've spent a lifetime trying to do enough to be accepted by God.

The second reason, I see an illustration of this concept every time I look out my front window this spring. We have the most beautiful climbing rosebush on our fence. We planted it years ago and have done nothing to it since. Every May it bursts forth for a few weeks in an array of glory and splendor unlike anything else in our neighborhood. "Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are", Matthew 6:28-29, NLT.

Joseph Prince, in his book "Destined to Reign", says that we are driven to "do, do, do", forgetting that Christianity is actually "done, done, done" because of Jesus' finished work on the cross.

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