To be, or not to be.

That is the question.

I've had several discussions recently with some wonderful friends regarding the importance of just being.

Finances. Service. Ministry. Outreach. Witnessing. I believe that Christ's presence in your life should be manifested in all of these areas, in a way that is not forced but that is who to you are inside. So often, the world of Christianity talks about "works," "acts of service," "giving," and "helping." These are all great words, but I think sometimes we forget about what has to be behind all of them. We must simply be.

Finances: What am I? I am a child of God, provided for by Him. Blessed by Him because He loves me and because He wants me to bless others. But first of all, I am His child. When I give financially, I ought to give, not because that is the rule (ten percent or may hell-fire rain down on you!), and not because I feel either guilty because I have more or prideful because I give more, but because I am. I am His child, and out of that identity, I ask my Father to whom and how much I should give as His child, a steward of His resources. It might be more than ten percent; it might be less. It might be outside of what I think I can spare (How silly, to think that when God the Creator of the Universe loves you!), but as His child, do I trust Him enough to actually be His child and trust His provision?

Service/Ministry/Outreach: I don't work in Sunday School because I'm obligated or because I want to impress people. I do it because I am God's child... I do it because of who I am. I am God's child and He has given me a special love for children.

Witnessing: I was thinking of this in context of every day stuff like being a witness for Christ at school or at work. I work in a sales position... not at a church, or a shelter, or at an outreach mission, or at a school (yet! See http://skuipersclassroom.blogspot.ca/ :) ). I struggled with that when I was gearing up for the summer. Should I have a more noble, a more 'Christian' summer job? Where it felt like I could actually do some good? This is where the concept of being became so important to me. Rather than the witnessing coming for the 'doing' at work, it would come from the 'being,' allowing Christ's light to shine through me.

Sometimes, this is harder. You can't rely on your works, then, to validate you, to let you know you are being a 'good Christian.' Rather, you make small decisions that are true to who you are that let people see Christ in you. This requires a lot of waiting and remaining and not knowing if you are doing any good at all. But some "are called to plant and some to water, but God gives the increase." Resting in this, in that you are God's child, no matter where you are placed or how insignificant it seems, requires holding on to Him and holding on to truth - sometimes it is difficult, because we have to let go of the pride of men (oh look at how good she is, and how she serves) or our own self-worth struggles.

However, this is also a place of rest, to know that your worth comes from who you are - no matter what you are doing, that identity cannot be taken away from you. So many times we derive our value from what we can bring - in this case, the starting point, the motivation of our lives is our desire to do what seems right, what is right. However, that motivation alone cannot hold. It is law based, not truth based. That motivation comes from within us, and "even youths will faint and grow weary" when they try it on their own. On the other hand, "those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength." When we realize the source of our power, our Heavenly Father, and we realize that He strengthens us because we are His child, then we have the staying power to carry out his purposes. When we release our grasp on living by the rules and live truth, there is freedom.

There isn't really a way to "do" this. No formula to live by being instead of doing. Rather, it is a step by step, moment-by-moment communication with your Father that will keep you and me in that place in which doing comes from being, and when there is nothing, it seems, to do, we can simply be.