For or Because

Recently, during Mark Schultz’s concert, I heard his explanation of how, as a child, his brain worked about being adopted (and even now as an adult).  Seems Mark’s always been fearful that failing to please people might lead to being rejected, even by his loved ones.  The way he expressed that was as a child, being aware of his adoption, being aware of his other siblings being the natural children of his mom and dad, he was always afraid of ‘being sent back’, away from his family, if he wasn’t successful and pleasing.  Imagine that if you can, feeling every day as though one wrong move or an accumulation of moves might add up to disappointing his parents enough that they might just ‘mail’ him back to the adoption agency.  Imagine the constant pressure of that throughout your life.  Mark explained that he always made sure his parents were proud: a high school quarterback, played baseball, graduated college, sang in Nashville– all of that associated with his attempt to please in order to stay loved, stay acceptable.

His story seemed so similar to the image we have of our adoption as children of God.  We constantly imagine ourselves having to be perfect or be rejected, even perhaps be perfect or be hurt.  Sometimes, how we put that in action is to do what we do for God rather than because of God.  Just looking on the surface of for and because there doesn’t seem to be much difference; but, even though subtle, the difference can be significant.  If we aren’t careful, we try and hide from God for fear of reprisal, perhaps even imagine our Father as Someone who’s too fond of harshness toward us.  In contrast, responding to God because implicates a believer’s heart that accepts and understands the Awesomeness of God’s plan, His action and character, and simply reacts with amazement.

For is associated with any action on behalf of and can be accompanied with a feeling of obligation. Because is associated with a motion from a fixed fact, and from my perspective, implies a sense of an action volunteered from the heart.  Like Mark, doing for can be generated in order to stay in good standing.  It’s kinda like knowing my wife doesn’t work for me although she does a ton of work that benefits me.  Jane volunteers to do that because we are related to one another.  Because requires an appreciation rather than an obligation.  Let’s look at it another way, would you rather have your wife (or your husband) do something for you because you frightened, harassed, embarrassed him or her into it or is it more fulfilling if they did that without prompting simply because they cared about you, loved you and volunteered to do it?   That was the heart’s desire of the Father, Son and Spirit from the very beginning of His creation.  They wanted us to choose to be a blessing rather than simply requiring us to be a blessing. There’s a heart difference in that. Behavior modification may work great on your pet, but it’s a lousy way to have a loving relationship between people, or between people and God.  God’s plan for us is very similar to our marriage proposals: there, in choosing a bride we celebrate the bride, we select her out of all the other brides that might be available and make her the center of our affection and vice versa.   It’s a loving choice, a preferred choice.  It’s not an assigned marriage but a choice marriage, and the union of that is superior to one that’s obligated rather than volunteered.  Father, Son and Spirit want that same kind of choosing, actually prefer that choosing, as the way for us to live and a way for us to relate to Them.

God loves choosing rather than heartless robotics.  God as Creator could’ve forced us, softwared us, to serve and perform every action for Him.  Instead He chose to create us with a heart similar to His heart; a heart for choosing Him just as He chose us first.  He made in such a way that we can experience the things of God, experience the joys of God, because of that freedom to choose.  We’re made to become addicted to His stuff rather than preferring our stuff.  God has always wanted your heart involved in His plan, not simply your brain, not just your flesh.  In this life, that can be pretty difficult because we’re trained and reinforced to rely on our biology rather than becoming aware of our spirit.   We’re wooed to selfish pleasure and away from heartfelt relationships. Just watch tv or listen to radio commercials and catalogue them by what they really are pitching, what are they telling us we can’t do without.  From God’s point of view, surely, we’re professional at majoring on the minors.

I remember a quote during one of our Rich Mullins concerts years ago: ‘God doesn’t have any grandchildren.’  Rich was saying, in his usual manner of simplicity, each person must do a choosing, no one travels this life without having made a personal choice about the God of the universe.  Choosing was the plan from the beginning and its still’s the plan for now and any future. Our yelling, or even a good reasonable argument, will not guarantee that people will choose acceptance of God as Lord.  In some sense we’re softwared to be free to succeed, loaded with that potential and possibility to say yes to Him.  Significantly, the reciprocal to that means it’s equally possible to fail at that, to say no.  That’s His deal.  And, there’s really no excuse, even the rocks cry it out!  Jesus said he didn’t come to judge you.  In His wisdom, he knew our own actions and beliefs would judge us, YOU choose this day who you will serve is the all encompassing essence of God’s plan.

Does God need us to work for him or, if we don’t, the work won’t get done?  Does the Creator of all things need the creation to do His work or is He capable of doing what needs to be done by simply possessing all the power as Creator?  God’s desire is that, while capable of all things, we’re invited to participate and discover the pleasure of serving, loving, caring, hoping, trusting, the wonder of His kind of Life by Him living through us.

By our invitation, God’s Spirit reveals himself to us.  I had a friend who would often say to me, ‘you can’t snow the snowman’.  What he meant by that was that you can’t snow, or fool, the Creator of snow.  The Spirit knows when that invitation is present, and when the response is real or when it’s a ‘snow job’.  When real, His presence floods our hearts with His presence.  One of my favorite scriptures is the story of Paul on the road to Damascus.  There, as Paul tells it, Christ was revealed as something Paul already had present. (Gal. 1: 15-16)   The Spirit changed Paul from a killing machine, hateful, arrogant despot into the central spokesman for the message of the Gospel.  Matthew 22:14 reads, ‘for many are called but few are chosen’ seems to only make sense if it’s stated like this:  for many are called, however, more are called than those who actually do the choosing.  It’s God’s desire that none would perish, but perish they will if they don’t volunteer to believe, to trust. Many are invited but few do the choosing to accept the invitation.

Again, with this opportunity to say yes comes the same possibility to say no.  Before the foundation of the world Father, Son, and Spirit made a decision to invite you, me, all to believe.  That plan is a precious plan to Them.  You were always elite, always preferred, loved long before this universe existed and that offer, that invitation to participate, still echoes and functions today.  Responding to that offer with our heart, or simply because of its profound fact-truth, (rather than having it programmed into your brain) is far superior and always desired by God over any obligation to do so.  You get to do this, this wonderful thing.  Equally, you get to say, ‘thank you, but maybe some other time.’  Say yes to that invitation because you recognize what He has done for us, what He has dreamed for us.  Do that because of the profound ‘too good to be true’ offer of this Grace.  Don’t make it a religion, it’s better than that.  Make it a relational, personal, ‘how could I not say yes’ thing.

We’re taught in John 5 that apart from Him we can do nothing. All our efforts, all our ‘for Hims’, can be exhausting.  We need His efforts in combo with ours, ours alone frustrates, His comforts.  Paul said that of all people, he was in the position of being able to boast because of all his attempts to do this thing by and in the flesh. (Phil. 3)  Actually, he was the chief defender of ‘his’ religious faith, represented God’s chosen, and at the same time Paul was the chief persecutor of Christ!  Instead of doing all you can for Jesus, just doing that as an attempt to not be shipped back to the adoption agency, why not try to reverse that a bit and do all you do because of Jesus.  Instead of trying to justify and build a relationship with Jesus (one I might add you already have), why not try and let Jesus build a relationship with you so that He lives in you and ministers through you just because!