Who You Are Matters!
May 12th 2024 was an epoch day in my life - my spiritual birthday! And not just any birthday. I wanted to shout from the rooftops that I'd experienced the thrill of knowing Jesus for 50 years. It's been a Grand Adventure, soaked in the goodness of God, revelling in His presence and basking in His love. Not that life did not contain rough moments and seasons. Of course it did. But as His Word assures us, the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. It has shone brightly on my walk on this earth with a brilliant hue for 50 golden years.
Today, I look back with a deep sense of gratitude to the God who created me, who knew me before I was born and who has loved me all the days of my life. I have sought Him and found Him, pursued Him and known Him, I've being cocooned in His lavish love. I regret to admit that I have sometimes sinned and fallen short these 50 years. But how grateful I am that God's grace and mercy and faithfulness have abounded. What a God! What a Saviour!
I am also appreciative of those who have shared these 50 years (many of you have shared all of it) and have blessed me with your presence ... my husband and son, my parents, my brothers & sisters, family & friends, pastors and Christian leaders who have journeyed with me and helped grow and deepen my walk with God. Thank you so much to each one of you for being part of my journey. I could not have made it without you!
Last month's blog was titled 'What You Do Matters'. I trust that you, dear reader, realised the extent of your value and worth in this world. All you do matters, even what you might think are little unnoticed acts of love! So well done, my friend! Well done! Today I focus on the other side of the same coin.
Who I am! Who I am matters too. Very. Very. Much. I realise with some sense of surprise, that those 50 years are perfectly broken into two. During the first 25 years, my life was a rush of purposeful activity – pursuing God, learning to please Him, sharing the good news with others, discipling new believers, living out my Christian faith. It was a lot about DOING! In the next 25 years, however, there has been an interesting shift. From the importance of doing to the importance of BEING! Through tough seasons, He wooed me into a deeper intimacy with Him. It was a challenging journey at times but I would not exchange it, because how sweet fruit He has been borne from it.
It's only now – as I celebrate this special birthday that I'm able to connect the dots and discover the pattern my life has been weaving or rather what God has been doing within me. Who I am on the inside matters ... even more than what I do. 1 Corinthians 13 informs us that the love in our hearts is vital in God's kingdom, more than the acts we perform. Jesus spoke with compassion to sinners and outcasts. But to religious leaders whose lives did not reflect the nature of God, his response was harsh. He called them white washed tombs. Hypocrites. Strong words!
Here's an excerpt from one of my previous blogs: "Today, 18th August 2014 it's 9 years since Dad was promoted to life beyond the grave. My memories of my beloved Thatha are as warm as the springtime, as clear as the morning sky. God fills my heart as I remember with joy and pride the amazing Dad he was to each of his seven. He made time for each of us. He was a man for every season. He was my father.
My Dad knew how to have fun. He also knew how to do life. Two words stand out when I think of him. 'Gentleness' and 'Integrity'. He taught us how to live by the way he faced life. With courage. With perseverance. With love for his fellowman. Gentleness and Integrity. I can almost see the words written on my Dad's dear face. His life's work (of loving and living well) flowed from all he was within. I found it easy to understand God's love for me because my earthly father portrayed it so beautifully. My parents' love for us still blesses us and always will. How grateful I am!
Jesus made it abundantly clear that who we are matters. "Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit." Matthew 7:16-18
Spiritual formation is a slow process through which we believers become more and more like Jesus. God changes us as we read, study, memorise and meditate on His word, as we obey Him, as we worship, as we practice spiritual disciplines, as we shine His light in a dark world.
Dallas Willard often said that God does not want us to do the right thing. Instead, God wants us to become people who would automatically do the right thing. Now there's good food for thought! And here's more:
"What God gets out of your life is not what you do, but the person you become." Dallas Willard.
Not that working for the kingdom of God is not important. Of course it is. But our doing should naturally flow from the person we each become - lives that reflect our Saviour Lord and King, Jesus.
In the first 25 years of my life, Jesus was my Saviour and Lord, my King, my Teacher and Best Friend. In the next 25, I encountered Him as all of those and more. He also became my Strong Tower, my Rock and Refuge, my Fortress, my Treasure, my All in All.
God uses difficult seasons to grow our characters. So dear friend, if you are bending under the weight of life's vicissitudes, hang in there! God often does His best work through what the Enemy throws our way. We may be bewildered. We may ask not understand why. But those seasons bring the rich fruit of righteousness to us who follow Jesus as we look to Him in trust and full surrender. Well done, my friend, on surmounting those obstacles and for keeping on keeping on. It is worth it. One day you will reach the summit of the mountain of life's journey.
You will then be filled with joy as you hear the words of Jesus spoken just for you:
"Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord."
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18
