IDENTITY OR ACTION? OR BOTH?

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians chapter 2, verse 20; from the New Living Translation (NLT)

Just exactly who are you? What determines the essence of you? What is the bottom line? Fact Time: Everyone has a, call it, bottom-line identity. It is what you are known by to others. Are you identified by your roles? Dad? Mom? Lawyer? Plumber? Preacher? Son? Daughter? Sister? Brother? Accountant? OR is your bottom-line identity in what you do? Kind? Helpful? Patient? Caring? Friendly? Empathetic? Energetic? And when it comes to your spiritual life (and everyone has one of these), what is the singularity that marks your life?

Do you consider yourself a Christian? Maybe I should ask a tougher question: What makes you a Christian? Is it an identity based on things like confessing and repenting of your sins and saying the sinner’s prayer? Being baptized? That you are a member of a particular church? That you read your Bible and say your prayers? That you avoid certain vices? Or is it because you show love to others? That you volunteer at the local homeless shelter? That you support the local food bank? That you demand justice for animals? That you cry out for equality for all people? So tell me, which is it? What you say or what you do?

That it’s both? Being a Christian is more than a title or a label. It’s more than a statement about what you did. And it’s more than actions we think makes us a Christian! It begins with the recognition that it’s something we are totally powerless to become. It requires that admission that we ARE sinners. And more than admitting we ARE sinners, it’s being honest enough with self to say we are tired of being sinners! It demands a total surrender of heart, mind, and will to Jesus. Then, we trust that what Jesus did on the Cross was done purposefully by Him for us sinners. And that a whole new life is now in front of us!

And as difficult as they may seem for some, it’s only the beginning. Being a Christian isn’t a matter of personal holiness or social holiness. It’s both!!!! (Notice the extra exclamation marks!!!!) This is exactly what Paul was trying to tell the Galatian church. Following Jesus begins with faith. It continues with faith in actions. And to the Church in the United States, Jesus didn’t live, die, and rise up from the death to create a Christian nation. He did all this to call us to storm the strongholds of Satan and reclaim the territory he stole for the Kingdom of God. No, actions don’t save us. But our actions do determine if we are or are not saved.

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BE A WARRIOR, NOT A WORRIER!

¹¹ Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. ¹² The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”

Judges chapter 12, verses 11 and 12; from the New Living Translation (NLT)

Sometimes, I said “sometimes”, I really don’t like some of the ways the Holy Spirit speaks to me. Sometimes it’s when He says, “You shouldn’t have done that!” More often it’s when He says, “You know, you really should have done that!” Well, yesterday afternoon was one of those times He spoke to me in a most unusual way. It was through one of those Hallmark movies. My wife and her sister keep their TV on one of those blessed Hallmark channels 24/7. I mean, surely there are other ways He could inspire and teach me “other than” a Hallmark movie. Am I right? Well, He did just that and it was in a line spoken by one of those characters in the movie: “Be a warrior, not a worrier!” And before I could catch myself I said out loud in front of them and the Lord: “That will preach!”

And this morning I couldn’t get that line out of my head. And immediately I thought about today’s passage and this worrier, Gideon. Don’t you think Gideon was worried? Why else would he have been threshing wheat in a winepress? He was hiding from the Midianites. He was worried that they might see him and steal his grain. When out of nowhere, there was an angel sent from God with the most unusual greeting from God: “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” Remember, context is everything. God spoke those words to a man who was worried! He called this Worrying Gideon a Mighty Hero! Ain’t that a hoot? I mean, how can you call someone in hiding because of his worries a Mighty Hero?

Who does that? God! That’s who!!! And guess what! He is still doing this even today! And tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. . . Now, let me speak to you. What are you worried about? If you’re a worrier, then it won’t take a lot of time. When we worry we are declaring that the source of that worry is bigger, more important, and more powerful than God! What I am about to say is to my fellow United Methodist tribal sisters and brothers–but it applies to any and every cause of worry.

There are things that come along that are indeed a cause for, call it concern (which is a coward’s way of not saying worry). Waiting on the doctor’s test results. More bills than money. Job interview. First date. The looming project deadline. And this is for my Tribal members: What’s going to happen to our property if we disafilliate? Now, we cannot stop things that happen to which our initial reaction is to worry. I’m talking about what we do with that worry! You can be a worrier or you can be what God calls Gideon: A Warrior! And to my fellow Tribal members, fight! Not for the Church Property! Fight for the Kingdom of God! That’s a fight that’s worth fighting!

Put your confidence in God, not the worry. Worry is like a vicious and hungry dog gnawing on a bone. It will grind you up. So, whatever it is you are worried about, stop looking at it and for heaven’s sake stop thinking about it. Instead of looking and thinking–I would suggest you listen! Listen to what God is saying. Even if you are a worrier like Gideon, He still calls those who will listen and trust in Him–a Mighty Warrior. You can worry. But what does that accomplish?