Making a Difference
Our sermon today at our church was very interesting, and convicting...
and I find it particularly timely in my life. I'll elaborate --
The sermon giver was an invited speaker, a professor at some Christian College around here,Vanguard I think, but I don't remember for sure.
He opened his time with this statement:
"The best way to ensure that you don't make a difference, is to actively try to make a difference."
which, sounds (paradoxical? is that the right word?)
at this point I am all ears, since I've been burdened, for as long as I can remember, that I should really be trying to make a difference, or, why am I not making a bigger difference, or when my life is done, I want to have made a difference.
His whole point was that, when we become so focused on "making this difference" we can become the type of people that have a check list of things that we do to make a difference, but all we end up doing is making short term changes, and at the end of our lives, we are not people of "difference".
What should be our goal?
He explained that our difference, or "doing" should flow out of our "being" (who we actually are: created in God's image, man and woman) not our "doing": trying to shape who we actually are, by our actions. (Which can all be well intentioned by the way)
This second way of thinking can be very self focused and self driven, instead, we should really be (his word) un-self-conscious.
I am still trying to wrap by brain around his words. He said so much more, delving into the word of God and showing how we are actually Gods' ambassador's to the earth. (Genesis 1 -3)
We are created in Gods' image and called to 'rule' or have responsibilities to this earth, the planet and the people. But ultimately that the way that we care for our planet and the people is to give away the power that God gave us.
It calms my heart and stirrs my spirit to know that it's not my efforts for whatever I'm pursuing that will make a difference, but that as I get closer to God, and as I focus more on "being" whom he has created me to be, that I will cause "difference" by not trying to be different. I don't have to worry about "making a difference" because as I follow God with all my heart (which is always hard to do) that God will be the difference, and that's what really matters.
It's thoughts to ponder.
and I find it particularly timely in my life. I'll elaborate --
The sermon giver was an invited speaker, a professor at some Christian College around here,Vanguard I think, but I don't remember for sure.
He opened his time with this statement:
"The best way to ensure that you don't make a difference, is to actively try to make a difference."
which, sounds (paradoxical? is that the right word?)
at this point I am all ears, since I've been burdened, for as long as I can remember, that I should really be trying to make a difference, or, why am I not making a bigger difference, or when my life is done, I want to have made a difference.
His whole point was that, when we become so focused on "making this difference" we can become the type of people that have a check list of things that we do to make a difference, but all we end up doing is making short term changes, and at the end of our lives, we are not people of "difference".
What should be our goal?
He explained that our difference, or "doing" should flow out of our "being" (who we actually are: created in God's image, man and woman) not our "doing": trying to shape who we actually are, by our actions. (Which can all be well intentioned by the way)
This second way of thinking can be very self focused and self driven, instead, we should really be (his word) un-self-conscious.
I am still trying to wrap by brain around his words. He said so much more, delving into the word of God and showing how we are actually Gods' ambassador's to the earth. (Genesis 1 -3)
We are created in Gods' image and called to 'rule' or have responsibilities to this earth, the planet and the people. But ultimately that the way that we care for our planet and the people is to give away the power that God gave us.
It calms my heart and stirrs my spirit to know that it's not my efforts for whatever I'm pursuing that will make a difference, but that as I get closer to God, and as I focus more on "being" whom he has created me to be, that I will cause "difference" by not trying to be different. I don't have to worry about "making a difference" because as I follow God with all my heart (which is always hard to do) that God will be the difference, and that's what really matters.
It's thoughts to ponder.
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