Monday, April 03, 2006

if i could be like...

last night at the gathering, we talked about what our society would be like if our culture was so kind that we had a word for "random acts of kindness", much like the Indonesian culture is so packed with violence that they have a word for "random acts of violence".

anyways, sonia said that she did a word search for "kindness" and much of what she talked about came from that.

i have been thinking lately about how we more often focus on the things that we should not be doing, as opposed to the things that we should.

so i did my own little word search. i looked for the phrase "be like" in the new testament (the OT is so poetic, that phrase was everywhere). more of those verses were actually "do not be like", so i skipped those. i also skipped the obvious "be like Christ" references.

here is what was left...
luke 12:36 - Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks.

WOW. what an interesting verse. in context, Jesus is telling them about not worrying about earthly posessions and about seeking the Kingdom of God first. where our treasure is, so is our heart. then this verse follows.

it is a strong reminder to me to focus on the things that matter. not to worry about tomorrow so much, you know? i have often thought about how old i need to be in order to collect such and such pension so that i can retire. man, i haven't even lived the 30 years in between and i already want to retire.

here are some ways that i want to be like Him:
  1. i want to be a caring and loving father, concerned and involved with my kid, praying for him and guiding him towards god
  2. i want to be a good husband, a man of integrity that loves his wife and lives sacrificially for her
  3. i want to be a good role model for young people, showing them that life with jesus is amazing and rewarding
  4. i want to be patient and forgiving
  5. i want to be about the kingdom of god NOW
for those that like to comment, throw in your $0.02 and talk about what you want to be like. and don't just write "like god", be specific.

posted by pablo   2 comments

2 Comments:

At , Blogger steve w said...

OK, so I'm currently involved in several blog discussions about being missional, and also incarnational ministry. Jesus is God incarnate -- God who became man. Incarnational ministry involves immersing yourself in the culture of the people you are trying to reach, following the example of Jesus.

I know you want specifics Pablo, and I want to be all the things you listed. But the list just keeps going and going in terms of the specifics of being like Christ.

My calling as a husband and father comes before my calling as a pastor, so I've always wanted to prioritize my family responsibilities. I've always thought in light of 1Tim3:4-5, that I would be negligent as a pastor if I didn't give priority to my family. I think any family member that prioritizes their career over their family is being negligent as a follower for Christ.

With my flock, I want to love them, and provide an example of following Christ in this world. I've wanted my flock to understand that who we are is more important to God than what we do for him. So I've prayed that the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) would be manifest in my life.

And I want what we as children of God enjoy and experience to be passed on to those that don't know Christ. If I have a great family life, and a wonderful church family, but those on the outside aren't being brought inside to enjoy and experience these same realities, my life, like a soda, goes flat. I don't like flat soda, and I don't want stagnant, unmagnetic faith. I want to be missional and incarnational, like Jesus.

 
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