GOD DOES FOR ME WHAT I CANNOT DO FOR MYSELF

 

Ephesians 4:1
As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

Interesting choice of words. "Live a life worthy of the calling you have received."
How would you measure such a life?
What standard would you hold up to see and understand whether or not life had been lived that revealed the worth of the call?

Coming out of addiction, most seem almost paralyzed by the "newness of life".
They fill like millions upon millions of rules have been hung over their sober head, and they must now carry them all out or risk going back to the old lifestyle.
Such a weight, will in fact send some scurrying back to the darkness. As painful as thoughts of going back to the old life is, at least they know the rules there and they can play that game. 

When some read the call to live a life worthy of the call God has given to us, they automatically think of "DOING" something. Whether it be teach, preach, speak, feed others, visit people in jail, that becomes the measure of the worth of our life. How much did I do for Jesus? When in fact, what Paul is talking about in Ephesians, is the development of our character. Or to put it another way, we allow our character to be changed through the work of the Holy Spirit into the character of Jesus. It is about becoming a people of integrity. A people who do not do business with the world, the same way the world does business with us. We live on a different plane of existence.

Step # 6 of the Twelve Steps reads:

Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character

Step # 6 is where we continue in the journey of change. We are entirely ready. No holding back. Realizing that this process will take time and will pay huge dividends in the end. We truly will become "new creations" (II Corinthians 5:17). 

Some who have heard me speak, have heard this statement on more than one occasion.
"God created us as Human Beings, not Human Doings. A change of heart produces a new way of thinking. A new way of thinking produces new behaviors. The new behaviors reveal the change that has taken place to us. I don't chase after God because I think it will look God. I don't study the Bible because I think it will impress those around me. I don't talk about my journey with others because I think I will garner their praise. All of those behaviors come from the simple fact that I have been change through this on going work of salvation. It is God at work in me.

Philippians 1:6 reads: Being confident of this that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
We are on a spiritual journey.
We are a work in progress.
Our job is very simple.
Turn will and life over to the care of God as we understand Him to be.
And cooperate with that work, allowing God access to our hearts.

Thanks for letting me share.
God on you.
mb