GOD'S WILL AND A MIME

God’s will can seem more or less like a wrestling match of prayer rather than a peaceful meditation. We seek after this omniscient being so he will discuss with us one on one what career path we should take, who we should marry, how much money is okay to keep and give away, or how much needs to be done so there will be a gold star next to our name when we get to heaven. Many noble and wise Christians have tried to identify and formulate his will by the events that are played out in people’s lives. For example, if a financial circumstance becomes better or if a person survives a car crash then “a door has opened” and it becomes God’s will. Somehow I think we identify God’s will much like we interpret a mime. We saw a guy with a painted face stuck in a box but our own foolish intelligence told us it was just a neat hand trick. We know God has told us to live our lives around him but we have wrapped our own plans around his and reduced his will from a "brilliant performance" to just a "hand trick." Somewhere along the line we misconstrued what the will of God is for our lives. I am not suggesting that God doesn’t open doors or that we shouldn’t go to him for advice, but what I am saying is that we should seek after the heart of God before we concern ourselves with his will. Romans 12:2 says to be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that then you can test and approve what God’s will is. This transformation of renewal is made possible only by seeking after the heart of Jesus. When you commune with the Trinity intimately you take hold of the attitude of Jesus in such a way that you will act out in your decision making as Jesus would. I find it ironic that when we seek after the will of God we always try to find the specifics. We wish that God would just talk to us like a normal being would. It is like we expect God to give us this shout out thru a megaphone telling us what isles to go down while we shop around life’s market. Yet when you read the word of God concerning his will there is usually a mention of moral living for your entire life and not specific one-time directions. (Acts 20:27; 1st Corinthians 7:37; Philippians 2:13; 1st Thessalonians 4:3 and 5:18 are a few examples). Again I am not suggesting that you can do what you want as long as you follow a moral guideline, but what I am saying is that the ultimate will of God in your life is to make you a new creation for eternity not a better decision maker for just this world. That is why he sent Jesus. I believe that when we surrender our lives over to the cross and encompass ourselves with everything that is Christ, he will begin to transform our hearts and thus his will does become evident in our prayers. Jesus did this very thing the night before he died. He understood that the heart of the father was for mankind’s redemption and so in essence he prayed for his own death because he knew it was the only way to save mankind. In this case it wasn't even what Jesus wanted but it was the will of the father, and Jesus wanted that above all else. He knew this was that father's will because he knew the father's heart. God's revelation to us has been made complete in Jesus and he is all we need in our decision making. The will of God is not a magical treasure map with different points marked out on it. God's will actually starts with an act of surrender to his love and from there is a transformation of our heart. Its like the old saying I would rather teach a man to fish then just give him a fish everyday. Jesus wants to teach us to be living sacrafices and not just give free hand outs. He wants us to fall in love with him not with what he can do in our lives. A mime can dazzle you with a performance but at times it can be difficult to intrepret what he is doing. However, if you begin to understand his movements by actually spending time with him you begin to better intrepret what he is doing or even why he is does it. Anybody who has heard a sermon on God's will wishes there was some type of formula in intrepreting it. The only formula is understanding there is no formula and God's will begins with his heart. Hence, that is why we have faith in the God who can transform our hearts into his own. As my pastor says, our faith is based on the fact that we count it (god’s will) so when it doesn’t look so in order that it might be so.