Being and Doing

I was thinking yesterday that I tend to work harder at trying to do things for God rather than just being a child of God. Ours is a culture of doers. If you need evidence, ask a stranger "Tell me about yourself" and odds are they'll begin by saying what they do for a living, and then maybe what they do for fun. Yes, but who are you?

But God is a being and not a doing. When Moses asked God what his name was, he probably didn't know what a big question he was asking -- he was just looking to get a copy of God's business card to drop in Pharaoh's lap to get some credibility. But God gave a very peculiar answer. He said "I AM that I AM. Tell Israel that 'I AM' sent you." This is where we get the name Yahweh. It means only, "I am."

What does this mean for us? Well as children of the God I AM it means that we don't have to do anything to be who we are. We can rest secure in the fact that we are children of God, loved by God, accepted by God, forgiven by God. When we answer the question, "who am I?" if we begin by saying, "I am a child of I AM" we'll be well ahead of the game. No need to get all in a frenzy. "Be still and know that I am God." Good advice.

It also means that as far as doing things to impress God or impress others, the pressure's off. The time when our acceptance depends on our performance is over and gone. God loves us right where we are. How do we know this? We know what love is "because while we were yet sinners, Christ Jesus died for us." We didn't have to do anything. We just had to be God's children, God's beloved.