Be-have

I am a language person. I like learning different languages and words intrigue me. Often when I get a revelation about something profound, it is in the form of a play with words. This happened to me this morning when I was thinking about how we can misunderstand the simplest things of God and get them so completely wrong. The enemy manages to twist God's truth so it completely doesn't mean the same thing anymore. On the surface it might look right, but the emphasis is completely wrong. Many people think that being a Christian mostly has to do with behaving properly. It hit me that this word BEHAVE doesn't have anything to do with Christian life. It is not about our own performance, but what Christ has done for us.

We are human beings, not human doings. The emphasis is on BE. We need to realize that we ARE God's beloved children, justified by faith, pure, spotless, pleasing to God in every way. We cannot add anything to Christ's perfect, finished work on the cross. We cannot add even one little achievement to make us look better in God's eyes, or make him love us more.

We also need to realize what we HAVE in him - our inheritance, the authority he has given us in Jesus name, and the honor he has bestowed upon us, undeservedly. When we realize these things we automatically are going to start behaving accordingly, but the emphasis is not on me anymore, it is on Him. Out of a thankful heart, overflowing with love and joy we cannot help but "behaving". And it is not hard at all. It is who we are. In Him.