Monday, May 23, 2005
Just Do Something
This is one of the chapter subheadings of the book I’m reading, Seizing Your Divine Moments by Erwin McManus. Have you ever noticed that Christians are all too often defined by what they don’t do rather than by what they do? Christians don’t get drunk, don’t use bad language, don’t have sex outside of marriage…Of course I’m not saying that Christians are free of sin—we are still in process, being transformed (sometimes slowly and painfully) into the image of Christ.
However, focusing excessively on the things we should not do prevents us from focusing on the other things that the Bible calls us to do. To name a few…
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind.” Matthew 22:37
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39
“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all I have
commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20
In fact James points out that failing to do what is right and good is just as bad as doing what we know is wrong:
“Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”
Erwin puts it this way:
“We have put so much emphasis on avoiding evil that we have become virtually blind to the endless opportunities for doing good. We have defined holiness by what we have separated ourselves from rather than what we give ourselves to. I am convinced that the great tragedy is not the sins we commit, but the life we fail to live.”
So...am I doing the good I ought to do?
