Post for January 20, 2012:  Be vs. Do

I had a dream last night.  In it, my aunt and I had competing Landscaping companies and we were both trying to be the first to drive to another city and get the work we had heard was there.  I had gotten far enough ahead of her that I couldn’t see her anymore in my rearview mirror.  I was moving along at a good pace on this two lane road that was going up a mountainside.  As I neared the top, there was a sharp curve to the left and I had to come to a complete stop because there was a huge, and I mean huge, hole in the road.  It took up both lanes of the road, was at least eight feet across and at least six feet deep.  I couldn’t drive around the hole because the mountain was on the left and sharp drop off on the right. I pulled my truck over to the side of the road and was unloading my equipment and moving it by hand around the hole.  As I was maneuvering a piece of lawn machinery around the hole, I thought, “I sure hope my aunt is able to stop in time and doesn’t fall into the hole.”  Then I woke up.

Here’s what I believe the Lord is trying to teach me from that dream.  Oftentimes, we get it into our heads that we’re going to DO something for God and we get so focused on the opportunity we envision ahead of us that we miss the ones right at our feet.  As a landscaper with the necessary tools, couldn’t I have filled in the hole and made the road level, the path straight for someone else?  Wouldn’t that have been a blessing to others?  But no…I was selfish and in a hurry.  I wanted to get somewhere else to DO something else that I figured would benefit me.  I barely had a second thought for a blood relative and fellow Christian let alone anyone else.

This also got me thinking about Jesus.  Have you ever noticed that in a lot of the Gospel accounts, Jesus is simply travelling somewhere and someone stops Him because they had a need for a miracle and He provided it for them?  I don’t recall any of the Gospels reporting Jesus saying, “Come on guys, today I’m going to the leper slum and do some serious healing!”  No, He’s travelling from one city to the next being Himself, and things just happen.  Blind Bartimaeus cried out loud enough to stop Jesus in His tracks and Jesus restored his sight as he had requested.  The woman with the issue of blood pressed through the crowd and made a claim upon His virtue as He was walking.  To me this speaks volumes about His character.  He didn’t DO things so much as BE who He was.  As people voiced their need to Him, He had compassion on them and met their need.  I do not recall anywhere in the Bible where Jesus denied someone healing or deliverance when they approached Him and asked Him to heal them or set them free.

One more thing to consider:  if you have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, then you are in Him and He is also in you.  Let us try to follow His example, move in His empowerment, and BE the people God created us to be.  Let us use our abilities and talents to help and bless those we meet in this life.  As we model His example, I believe He will shine through us more brightly than ever before and isn’t that what we’re aiming for?