Be-Do-Have?

My 3-year-old daughter walked out of her room one day last week and looked me squarely in the eye and proclaimed, "I have to be before I can do Mommy." Um, hello? Someone took their profound pill that morning! The timing was good though, so I thought I'd share some random, not completely coherent thoughts on this topic.

Be-Do-Have is a saying Easy and I are familiar with from some of the training for the business we have. It's generally taught like this. You must become (be) the right person before you can do the things that will allow you to have rewards (typically in business seen as earthly things - mostly monetary gain). Frequently it is even taught that God will put you through things to help you become that person before he helps you do those things that allow you to have the rewards he has planned for you. I struggle a lot with the strange balance of wanting only God's will in my life and at the same time pursuing some sort of earthly success....but that another blog. For now I'd like to just ponder the thought that lies beneath this idea of being first.

Just days before Paris proclaimed this little jewel our preacher, Foree, had delivered a great sermon. Granted I didn't hear all of it. Those of you with young children know that hearing an entire sermon is a treat all to rare. What I do remember is Foree speaking about how many times in scripture it says that it was not yet Christ's time. The idea being that there were things yet to be done before it was time for him to save us all with his ultimate sacrifice. He needed to experience and become all that it is to be human and then wait for his Father's timing. I thought of this after Paris statement. In truth Christ had to BE one of us before he could DO what he was sent for so that WE can have the most amazing reward. The idea of being and doing so someone else can reap a reward is one not well tolerated in American society. It is however, how we should live our lives. To truly be Christlike we must constantly strive to become the person God wants us to be so we can do His good work and allow others to "have" a share in his Kingdom!

Another thought......this one credited to Daniel Orozco, our current Sunday school teacher. Christ did not tell his disciples that they were to BE fishers of men. He said they were to BECOME fishers of men! This implies process does it not? Even Christ went through a process of being human before His time came. I think for us it is in that process of becoming we realize that we can not be with out acknowledging our dependence on our Father. I also think we are never done with the process. Even when we have made remarkable "discoveries" and see our life changed through the Truth, there is still more. In reality we can not become enough. We can never do for ourselves what Christ has done for us. And we will never DO anything that will earn us our heavenly reward. Instead we should always strive to become what God wants us to be to better His kingdom, not for our gain.

So, sweet Paris I guess I agree. There are many things in life that require you to "be" something before you can "do" them. You have to be a certain age to vote or drive, and a certain height to ride rollercoasters. The beautiful lesson that I hope to impart to you as you grow is that you should always strive to be what God wants you to be, and by loving and accepting His son who has already done the doing for you, you can indeed have the reward of eternal life. That is my prayer for you daily.