What scares me?
Before accepting my current position as the senior pastor of a small church, I had the opportunity to serve in the United States Marine Corps for a little over eight years. During that time, I had the privilege of deploying to Okinawa, Japan, and the Helmand Desert in Afghanistan.
In Afghanistan, I was given the responsibility of acting as an Embedded Training Advisor. In short, we worked in harsh and dangerous environments training the local Afghan military. I served in that position for seven months. Those were the longest seven months of my life.
“…Ye are gods…” Psalm 82:6; John 10:34
Fear And Awe
While many things contributed to that feeling of dread I carried, perhaps the most significant burden that weighed me down was the possibility of suddenly being killed. In that short time in a combat zone, about 32 of my fellow advisors were assassinated. Nevertheless, daily I experience just as much fear and awe when I consider one of the greatest truths of being a dad.
In John 10:34, Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?”
Some might not get what he is saying on the first examination, so please allow me to elaborate. I will do this by explaining what he was not saying. He was not saying that we are really God or will ever be God. Furthermore, he was not saying that we are divine in any way, shape, or form. We are not. However, he was saying that as Christian men, we are made in the image of God. THAT makes me tremble. It humbles me and causes me great remorse.
Reflect God How?
Think about it, just for a moment. God gives YOU the responsibility of being like Him. Wow. Talk about an impossible, absolutely, positively, humbling, audacious, ridiculously absurd, and utterly crazy idea! Me…be… like…God? After all, what is God-like?
- Impressive
- Loving, kind, and gentle
- Gracious and generous
- Powerful and inspiring
When I think of God’s wonderful, majestic character in the scriptures, the fact that God calls me to be like him always causes me to kneel and beg for his mercy. I ask that God would allow me to “walk worthy” (Eph, 4:1).
Reflect God Through His Power
Thankfully, God does not ask us to the impossible and then leave us to ourselves. Instead, he provides all that we need for “life and godliness” (2 Pet 1:3). As believers, God seals us, and when we ask, fills us with the Holy Spirit. Next, we need to know what God is like! The only way to do that is to study His Word daily. In the Bible, God reveals to us what He is like. He wants us to know and glorify Him. Lastly, to Walk Worthy, we need to be accountable to God’s man in the local church. There is no substitute for a local, physical, church body. This church is critical as God will use that place to bless you, allow you to bless others, and give you men to follow and men that you can lead.
In conclusion, Dad, I want you to know that God has given you the most significant responsibility in the world. He has called you to be like Him. As crazy as this might seem, and as impossible as it is, He has provided a straightforward path to accomplish this goal. First, we must be surrendered to God’s Spirit daily. Next, we must read God’s Word daily. Lastly, we must follow Jesus by being part of a local body of believers; we call the church.
For more reading materials on How Can I Reflect God?, see below:
0 Comments