• If you haven’t read my previous blog, “The God Who Shares,” I encourage you to do so first—it’ll help you understand this one more…

I grew up in church and am so thankful for parents who taught me the value of community. We were there pretty much every time the doors were open.

As I look back over my church-going journey, I realize there are a couple “Christian-ese” catch phrases (ideas) that I picked up along the way. I’ve used them many, many times, and although they sound nice and “spiritual,” I’ve come to realize they’re just not biblically sound. In fact, they war against identity and the truth that we are called to share in life with the Father, Son, and Spirit.

What we say reveals a much deeper issue of what we actually believe to be true (Luke 6:45). For that reason, my goal in writing this blog is to simply point out lies we believe (which is revealed in what we say). It may seem a bit trivial to draw these ideologies out, but I personally believe language is huge, as it communicates the heart of an idea; and ideas cultivated over a period of time produce a pattern of thought. Therefore, if we are saying things contrary to the nature of God, I think it would be prudent and responsibly wise to adjust our way of thinking.

For that reason, I want to suggest a couple of lies that war against the good news of Abba Father sharing in life with us, His beloved!

“GOD USES US”

Truth: God doesn’t “use” us, He partners with us

“God uses us”—I’ve said this more times than I can even begin to count. You may have even said it yourself. In fact, it’s fairly common to hear that God wants to “use us” for His glory. Although I get what we are trying to say, I think we need to inventory what we’re actually communicating. When I say or hear this, my immediate thought is:

Have you ever been “used” before? If so, how did that go? Furthermore, would you be okay with being used again?

When I “use” something, it is solely for my benefit. There is no sharing or fellowship of joy with the thing I’m using—it’s just one-sided. For example, if I use a shovel to dig a ditch, there’s no sense of fellowship or sharing involved—when the job’s complete, I will have no more love or fellowship with the tool than I did before I began. In other words, the process was all me-centered.

The Father, in His goodness, is not some distant, narcissistic deity Who’s exclusive in the joy of life. Nor is He distant or disconnected. Beloved, He is LOVE (agape, other-centered, self-giving) by nature. He is the perfect Friend, Father, and good Shepherd who wants to share His life with us. I use tools, I don’t have fellowship with them. 

I used to deflect any praise of men. If someone would compliment me in any way related to ministry, I would say, “it’s not me, it’s Him.” One time after saying something along those lines, the person said “I’m pretty sure it was you up there.” I thought that was funny! Although I get the idea of what I was trying to say (in that we don’t want to take the glory and hoard it up), I also don’t want to miss the opportunity of being a vessel in which His glory flows.

The apostle Paul makes it clear that we are called to reciprocate (receive and release) the light of His glory (2 Corinthians 4:7). I like to say it this way, “We are rivers, not ponds.” Therefore, it’s imperative that we learn to not only give, but to also receive glory. Rest assured that the Father is okay with you receiving affection, affirmation, and even the praises of man. However, the point is—don’t hold onto it. Go ahead and receive that glory, that praise—just make sure it gets transferred to the Father of glory before the day is up!

“I NEED TO GET OUT OF HIS WAY”

Truth: Father doesn’t want to get us out of the way; He wants us to jump into His

If God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours, then it would be absurd to think we need to remove ourself in order to see those ways and thoughts released through our life. Relationship requires the involvement of at least two. We don’t need to be moved out of the way, we need to venture in the way of His heart.

I know none of us want to hinder the ways of God in our lives, but removal is not the answer—renewed vision is. Partnership with His plan is. Perhaps a higher way of looking at this is that we learn to meet Him in our current state; and in absolute surrender, we bring who we are to the table. The Father doesn’t want absence, He just wants you ascending into His higher ways and thoughts. 

If God removed us out of the way, that would be contrary to sharing. Love requires another’s involvement (someone receiving the given affection), and removal of the other would be a contradiction to the way of love.

The simple fact is that He is always with us—when we choose Him and when we don’t; when we do things His way or when we do them ours. He doesn’t opt out when things don’t go His way; He hangs in and remains true to us. He may even say, “Go ahead and do it your way and I’ll be here when you decide to do it My way.” In His goodness, He will even use the bad times and past mistakes to create a canvas of beauty.

Enjoy the sharing…

-RA