One of the last things Dr Tim talked about in class before his summer hiatus was the idea of being transparent. That instead of WWJD or trying to be like Jesus, that we become more and more transparent and let God show through us. It is the perfect picture of what our lives should look like. Easy to say, hard to do.
Not growing up in the Church Universal, I was instantly sucked into the idea that Doing was the way to making God happy. The more I did, the happier He would be. I was good at it, really good. When Doing is your goal, all you have to do is produce, over and over again. Over the years and after much unlearning, I no longer see many things as I once did. No longer is the church, complete with building, people, events and schedules my ideal of what God's church looks like....Whereever 2 or 3 are gathered, that is my idea of church now. Whereever and whoever, no group singing or handshaking required.
The art of being transparent will be a Journey we will travel, everyday of our lives. To risk what you think you need to do, to be still long enough to let Him shine through, goes against our need to do. There will always be Places To Do, where a word, gesture in the form of a little Love will be the right thing. When we stop getting our jollies from doing, when we stop patting ourselves on the back for the great work we are doing, when we are ok with being used instead of using, we may be on the right track. We can do many things that are good and wonderful, for the wrong reasons. Whether to make ourselves feel better or bigger. Whether we think we know what Jesus is like and spend our lives, imitating Him or we are willing to let ourselves fade into the background, taking no thought of reward or warm fuzzies. It will always be our choice, always...
