What if you could have a relationship, a real meaningful relationship with someone and you didn’t have to do anything to earn their love or approval? You could just be.
Seems too good to be true, right?
In today’s day and age, hustle is honoured and respected. For example, take how we frame our conversations with others. The question, “what do you do?” is typically one of the first things we ask someone. This is because our society values those who do. Just think of those whom society writes off and views as less valuable — the homeless, the elderly, the handicap — because of their inability to perform. As if a person’s doing is what makes someone valuable.
You may be thinking… okay so what, big deal, but unfortunately I think society is more persuasive than we give credit for.
For example, when someone asks you “what are you doing?” you most likely throw out every big word to make yourself and your part time job seem way more sophisticated than they actually are. As well as explain how busy you are with all your extracurricular activities. Whether we actually like to be busy or not, we feel this pressure to “do”.
What if your value wasn’t based on what you did, or could offer society, but rather who you were, the mere essence of your make up?
This constant state of activity, without check-ins may find yourself asking “what am I doing? What is the point? Who even am I?”
When God created all that exists out of nothing He used these three words, “Let There Be…,” (Genesis 1). When translated to its original script which is Hebrew, it is recognized as the Hebrew phrase “yehi” which when translated means “to command.”
Let there be is a command, but also an invitation for something other than God to be.
Think about that.
God does not need anyone or anything. He is not lonely, or bored. But by His will He allowed something other than Himself to be.
First of all, that’s incredibly humbling. Who am I that God would dream me up? Who are you that God would carefully design you? Now add sin into the mix, and God still allows us to be, even in our broken states.
Still His first words spoken are echoing throughout the ages. We are being because God allows us too.
Therefore, from that there comes this realization of freedom that God allows us to be. We are allowed to and in fact, required to be who God made us to be.
He lets us simply be.
How simple yet so profound?
He doesn’t require anything of us for Him to see us and love us.
For this reason, I think of the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus. This story is so profound for reasons we usually skip over. Mary was chosen not by her own doings, but because of God’s miraculous grace He allowed Mary to be the bearer of His Son. He didn’t require her to change, but took her as she was — a virgin — to accomplish what God created her for. And you know what Mary’s response was? “Let it be to me according to your word,” (Luke 1:38).
Those same words again.
The mercy — that God allows Mary to carry the Son of God, — and also the freedom —that God allows Mary to be Mary whom he created. A testament that the words we sing to God, are the words sung right back over us.
Let them be who I created them to be. Free. Cherished. Image bearers. Radically set apart.
However, we still feel the need to compartmentalize God into a neat box, perhaps because our finite minds cannot comprehend the extensiveness and mystery of God. Yet God radically exceeds the boundaries that we give him.
For example, Isaiah who was a prophet before Jesus ever walked the earth, experienced a vision from God. Through this, Isaiah encounters the unfathomable glory of God and is faced with the harsh reality of his own unworthiness. But God, contrary to common belief, does not destroy or even burn Isaiah, rather he is cleansed. Kinda the opposite of what we would expect hey?
I love this because it shows that even when we come to our conclusions and put God in a box and forget the insane magnitude of God, He doesn’t “smite us” (where did that belief even come from?) This passage of scripture reveals two things: 1. God’s mercy towards Isaiah and 2. it is a testament to our identity as image bearers that we are welcomed into the presence of God. God allows us to be with Him — WOW!
Just to be in the same space as Him.
I don’t know about you, but when I go to a concert or go to a place where a movie was filmed, I can’t help but be in awe by the fact that I am/was in the same place as someone famous. It’s kind of silly, but it makes me think why we aren’t the same way about God. And the crazy part is, we don’t have to go somewhere to share the same space as Him. Guys, the wildly powerful all transcendent God is in our midst at all hours of the day.
I say all of this to demonstrate that when we know who we are — image bearers, cleansed, radically set apart, free — we become fully alive to the person God created us to be. No more pressure to always earn, strive and do.
To me the words God spoke at creation “Let there be…” hold two powerful truths revealed to us both in Mary and Isaiah’s life, but are also true for us today.
The first truth is mercy. God allows us to be.
“It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us!” Ephesians 2:4-5 (MSG)
The second truth is freedom. God allows us to be.
“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” Galatians 5:1 (NLT)
When you score and play well in a game, get good marks on a test, get approval from your teacher, friends or parents, we must remember our worth is not based on our performance (what you do or don’t do).
You will never be perfect. I know it takes more than just reading this and believing it’s a good idea to remove the merit based ideology our brains operate under. But we must do our best to remind ourselves that we were not created to do, but to be.
His love holds our relationship together not our own works.
Faith is so much more of a relationship than a duty. It is not about our performance but about His perfection and His love letting us be. Even when we don’t feel worthy or deserving we just have to say yes and accept his grace. Don’t go back to the old merit system and feel like you have to be worthy before God. You already are.
Stop trying to make God proud of you. Simply be. Be in awe of His presence. Recognize His wild love for you. He doesn’t need you to do anything. He just wants you to be.
Recommended Songs:
Be with me By Bryan & Katie Torwalt
Only Jesus By Brian Johnson & Jenn Johnson
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