I am SUCH a slacker.
I still have to write my farewell to Month One post (it really was a success!) and I have to write my intro post for next month. When we originally decided we wanted to start this process, we had planned to begin February because we figured we'd need a month to prepare ourselves. Instead we decided to jump right in and MAN, did that ever backfire. We agreed to take this month off instead and get our heads on straight. We've been kicked in the gut with a lot of personal issues lately and that has made it hard to focus. Hoping the next two weeks will be filled with peace and prayer and preparation.
So the schedule is....tomorrow I will write my farewell to Month One post summing up all that I learned and was successful at. In about two weeks time I'll write my intro to Month Two post. So what to do in the meantime?
Well, I'm going to write whatever comes to mind, if anything.
For today, I want to take a moment to write about something that has been on my mind for a few weeks. Very simple, but very heart stirring. For me at least.
It started with a four word quote:
"God is a verb."
Now I know there are a whole bunch of weird books, philosophies, etc addressing that thought. I'm not going to dive in to all of those. I don't think God LITERALLY is a verb and not a noun. I'm just taking the quote at face value, and thinking about what it means to me.
You have maybe heard the saying "Love is a verb." That I believe wholeheartedly. You can talk about love as a noun when you are describing it as a philosophy. But I believe that you cannot truly love someone unless you SHOW it. Do it. Be it. Saying "I love you" but not doing anything to prove it means nothing. And if you have to DO something, then it is an action word, a verb. Love is a verb.
And is not God the very definition of love?
1 John 4:8He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
Seems pretty straightforward to me. God is love. When you think about love, what do you think of? You probably think about many things. When I think about love, the things that stand out in my mind are peace, security, companionship, and joy. An overwhelming sensation of happiness. Love is happiness! It is a bond so sweet and so true that you can barely explain it, barely put forth the words to describe it. Want to make it even more indescribable? Think about it in terms of God! Everything I just described IS God! God is a peace that passes all understanding. He is the rock of all ages. He is your truest and most faithful friend. He is the Giver of all things fine and blessed. He IS happiness. He IS love. You can enjoy all those things without God, sure. But never on the level you would experience with God. With God...it's an experience and a bond that is unbreakable. Unimaginable. Unending.
That is God. And what is God if not unbreakable, unimaginable, and unending? He is the beginning and the end of every story in every life that has ever been lived.
So what does that have to do with God being a verb? Well aside from the obvious (God=love love=verb), I think it has to do more with what God expects of us. If Jesus' life on earth is one that we are to try and model, and "to model" is a verb meaning "shape - mold - fashion - pattern", then we are to actively shape on mold our life to be like His. It's not just saying "I want to be like you Jesus." Just as saying "I love you" means nothing without action. It is thinking about Christ in every action, in every movement. Am I being Christ like? Are my actions on par with the Lord's? It is truly "walking the walk" and not just "talking the talk" if you will. To know God is to strive to BE like Him. And to be like Him you must do as He does. We can never reach perfection of course, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try our absolute best anyway.
I want to shape my life to be like Jesus'. I want to live a life that honors Him. The most basic way I can do that is to love. Not just those who are easy to love, like my family, but those who are not always lovable. There are people in this world who are hard to love. But if I want to show them Jesus, I have to show them love. The same is true for all areas of life. There is not one aspect of living that Jesus does not model perfectly. So to model after Him, is to be like Him. To show, do, make, mold, shape, fashion, pattern, a life such as His. It is all action. It is all verbs.
I know this is a simple thought, but I enjoy words. Words can create pictures just like any pen and paper, can recreate emotions just as strongly as the ones you feel. Words SPEAK to me. And not just in the literal sense. So when I think of God as a verb, an action word, I think of a God who DID something. Not just a God that said things but did not do them. He did do them, and He did them perfectly. I aim for the highest and the brightest and the best....so there is no other end goal but God. To me, that is anything but simple. Perfection is hard and I know I will never reach it. It would be much simpler to give up caring and do what comes easiest.
But with a friend like Jesus, how could I justify doing anything BUT my best? I owe Him everything, the least I could give is my all.
