Dancing in the Light

I John 1:7 "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin."

Name:
Location: North Platte, Nebraska, United States

I am a christian wife, mother and grandmother. I am a licensed Social worker and a licensed Christian counselor. I am most proud of the relationships I have with God, my family and friends all over the world. I have been blessed beyond my dreams.

Friday, November 30, 2007

What Am I About?

My friend, Stacie, gave me a new CD by Sierra. The songs are wonderful and I like them all. However, I find myself playing one of them over and over again. The song, "Make Me" is about the process of becoming what God intended. As the artist sings about this struggle, the lyrics speak of the all too familiar waves of doubt that occaionally surface in every Christian's life. The exact words are "My mind becomes entangled beneath a web of doubt, questioning the question of what I am about." I have played this song many times and each time, I am struck by this simple phrase: "What am I about?" This same question has plagued mankind for generations. I daresay there have been times when we have all wondered why we are here, what we are doing and why we are doing it.
So what am I about? Now I realize the song, though inspirational, is not inspired and should therefore not be the source of some great theological truth. However, the idea that doubt is linked to this cloudy vision of purpose is a concept that is both practical and biblical. For it is when doubt overtakes us that the questions begin to come. It is when doubt seeps into our lives that our faith begins to waver. It is when doubt wiggles its way into our faith structure that our hope begins to wane and all that we know, all that we stand for, all that we hope and believe comes under scrutiny. Doubt is a great modifier of purpose.
As I think about this I began to wonder how we can battle doubt, how we can always and forever have the assurance---the assurance that instills hope in our hearts and compels us to persevere. I began to think about Jesus. Ephesians tells us that before we were even created, He saw us and made plans to redeem us. Our redemption was His sole purpose and all of history led up to the fulfillment of this plan. We walk along with Abraham, the promise recipient, and we see his great acts of faith and also his stumbling doubt. We read of the hardships of the family of Moses and his summon to be their rescuer and we hear his excuses, as if he doubts that God has made the correct choice. We journey through biblical history to the birth of our Savior and we see the miraculous and purposeful announcement by Gabriel and the heralding of His birth by angels and shepherds and wisemen alike.
And then in Luke chapter 2, we see the boy Messiah, in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the Passover with His family and other Jewish worshippers. His family and their entourage have made the long pilgramage and are returning home, only to discover He is not with them. An extensive search finds the 12 year old in the temple with the teachers. He is not worried, seemingly oblivious that He has been left. He is not thinking about how He, at only 12 years old, will find His way home or what He will use for food or water on the trek, which was several days worth of travel. He is not concerned that something will happen to Him. He is not thinking about the physical at all, rather His focus is on the spiritual. When His mother finds Him and reprimands Him for worrying her, He simply states, "Why were you worried, did you not know I must be about my Father's business?" A simple statement of fact--my Father's business---that is what I am about!
It occurred to me as I read this that perhaps that single-minded focus, that unwavering determination, that one purpose would help us combat doubt in our Christian walk. Perhaps if we were not so worried about opinions and traditions, and if we were not so concerned with programs and platitudes, perhaps we could devote more emotional, physical and spiritual energy toward being about our Father's business. If we could take the physical out of the picture, if we could not worry about what other's think, if we could focus on the spiritual, then I believe doubt would find no place in our hearts or minds. If we could do this, then the age old question "What am I about?" would find its answer in "I am about my Father's business."

Peace
Neva

18 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love that song!

Great post today! You always hit the nail right on the head.

Pat

9:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I havent heard that song, but I will put it on my Christmas list. Sounds beautiful!
Thank you for this post, we get so busy doing things that we forget our real purpose is to be about God's business.
Very good post.

Carol

10:08 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That is exactly what we all need to be about!

Great thoughts today

Dan

10:20 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Absolutely!


Glynnis

10:32 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Too cool, Neva.
I never thought of those words that way. Thank you for making me think.


Rachel

12:02 PM  
Blogger Stacie said...

Great post, very glad you liked the CD. Hope you are having a great day.

12:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

All day, everyday, just being about my Fathers business, sounds like a good idea.

Thanks Neva

Corinne

3:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I really wasn't sure where you were going with this--I like the point even though it was unexpected. You are the best at finding applications!

In Him
Lori

5:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love the way you think, girl!
What a great lesson from an old well read passage.


Georgia

6:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great post Neva. We like that song too.

Jarrod

7:45 PM  
Blogger Monalea said...

Good post my friend.

Monalea

10:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Being about something... been bugging me lately.
I think.....


Is blogging still doing it for you?
It's starting give me a headache.

Random Monday thought (almost a thought).

8:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Neva,
Sometimes we get so busy being busy that we forget our purpose. Thanks for the reminder.

Yvonne

9:59 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Amen

Interested Bystander

3:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

When we lose sight of our what we should be doing, we begin to lose sight of who we are.
Great post,

Mary

6:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Exactly what we should be doing, focusing on God's business--souls!
Great post!

Jeneane

8:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just beautiful, the song and the post!


Lyndsay

10:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Since I have known you, He and His business has been yoru focus!


Love ya
Kel

10:54 AM  

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