When Will You Decide

I started this post, but it came off as weak and lame, so here is take two, from the top. This summer for me has been all about faith, not the question as to whether or not I believe, but how to add a spark to my faith, to make it alive. It is easy to get bogged down in religion, whoa there; yes I said it is easy to get bogged down in religion. Religion is a list of rules and creeds, believe this, do this, bada bing, bada boom, there you go. But the thing is this, religion is boring, and generally makes you feel bad. I hate that feeling I get when I realize I messed up, yeah according to the book of Leviticus I’m not doing too well. Lately I’ve been reading Micah, one of the minor prophets (minor as in size, not content), and in chapter 6 God’s going on about what He wants of us. Verse 8 says “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” Not, be perfect, not give me your best animals or your firstborn, just follow my lead. I was bored out of my mind today, I had no one to talk to and had tons of work to get done. Then it hit me, just like how we desire relationships with other people, God wants a relationship with us. He doesn’t want us to follow a bunch of rules, He wants to talk with us, hear us, and have us listen to Him. So, how do we do that, well we’ve got to live like Him, become like Him, and know Him. Only a friend can recognize a friend, and so we need to know God like a friend. That is where the changes need to start, when you accept God in your life a few minor changes may take place (sometimes major ones) but most of the work is in our hands, we’ve got to change ourselves, God can’t do it for us. In Tattoos on the Heart Greg Boyle recounts a conversation with a former gang member in which he is asked when the violence will stop, his response was when you decide. When will I decide to change, when will I welcome Jesus’ call and step out of the boat, when will I rise to the occasion and fulfill God’s plan for me? God can’t answer that, in fact no one can, only I can. A relationship takes work, effort, and sacrifice, but the results are sweet and overwhelming. Talk is easy, it’s actions that speak out, I decide.