If you want to read the blog directly from Donald’s blog, click here: http://donmilleris.com/2010/05/21/the-person-god-designed-you-to-be/

Here we go…

I’ve heard this little phrase in Christian circles that says “you can be the person God designed you to be.” The implications of the phrase are:

1. You are not the person God designed you to be and

2. The speaker or writer has some sort of formula that is going to help you become who God intended for you to be.

Now to be sure, every time I’ve heard this the intentions have been terrific. It’s always the nicest (and for that matter, most God fearing God loving better than my cynical self) people who say these things. If the world were more populated with people like them than people like me the world would be a better place, for sure. God knows they mean well, and they mean well for God and for you.

That said, I take issue with the phrase. I don’t believe you and I are going to be the people God intended for us to be until we get to heaven, until we are reunited with the Trinity. Until then, we are the people God never wanted us to be, that is people who are separated from Him. We have access to Him through Christ, but we won’t be with Him, as it were, until the wedding feast of the lamb, so until then, we are incomplete and that’s the most obvious truth in the world, all you have to do is watch the news, or have a video camera follow you around for an hour.

If you want a good picture of what life would be like if we were the person God created us to be, you just have to look at the book of Genesis. Moses repeats one descriptive phrase over and over, that before the fall, people walked around naked and weren’t ashamed. He really doesn’t explain much else. He just keeps going on about how when people were with God they could walk around naked. It actually makes you start wondering what Uncle Mosie was thinking.

But if you think about it, it’s quite a meaningful way of saying that, in the presence of God, we are hardly self aware. That is, we can walk around completely naked and feel no shame. That’s very hard to believe, you know, because every time I’m naked I am acutely aware of the fact I am naked. Honestly, it never slips my mind. I never find myself at the grocery store, catching a chill in the frozen food section when I suddenly realize I’m in my birthday suit.

What Moses is saying is that we were designed to live in the presence of God, and in His presence, and His presence alone, self awareness fades away, and we are made complete in an exchange of love we can’t possibly imagine. Moses, then, summed it up pretty well: They were naked and felt no shame.

And so when we hear we can be the people God designed us to be by obeying a formula, we are being sold snake oil. If you were the person God designed you to be, you’d walk around naked and not know it. In other words, if you were the person God designed you to be, you’d be in an insane asylum singing Third Day songs only wearing a keytar.

It sounds like a slight thing to contend with, but believing you can become some sort of actualized human being before the wedding feast of the lamb has negative emotional consequences. If you actually believe that, you aren’t going to be happy because you’ll spend your life believing you are missing out on some kind of life that isn’t accessible till you are reunited with God. No formula is going to reverse the affects of the fall of man. You don’t have that kind of power, and neither does a formula. God will bring you to Him when He chooses, and at that point you will be the person He designed you to be, namely, you’ll be with Him, which is what He designed you for.

Instead, Paul repeats over and over that what we have in Christ is hope. HOPE. He says he counts all things rubbish compared to the hope that awaits us in Christ. And he says the hope we have in Christ will not disappoint.

And there’s nothing depressing about that at all. Ever meet a girl who just got engaged? She’s happy. She’s not happy because she’s not married, she’s happy because she knows she’s going to get married. She has hope. In fact, the truth is she’s happier engaged than she ever will be married (booo….bad joke, just kidding. Please don’t tweet me angry, 140 character hate mails.)

What this means for me is that I can learn about God, I can pray to God, I can long for God, I can cry out to God, I can allow God’s principles to guide me in this vapor of a short life, I can enjoy my suffering as a point of reference for His eventual deliverance, but in terms of being an actualized human being, all I’ve got going for me is Christ. I’ve got nothing else. And Christ will reunite me with the Father, and at that point, I will be the person God designed me to be. I’ve got no hope in myself at all, and no hope in formulas. I’ve got all my hope in Christ.

So next time you’re reading a religious book and the author says you can be the person God designed you to be, flip to the back cover and look at the author picture. If said author is wearing clothes, put the book back on the shelf. It’s like my Uncle Mosie told us, Never trust a fella wearing clothes.

I’ve had a ‘blue’ week this week.  Just in case you’re a fixer, please don’t send me your suggestions. They frustrate me even more than the ‘snap out of it’ platitudes.  It’s kinda funny, but all the little platitudes that I used in my 20′s don’t work anymore.

But here’s what I do when I get blue…

1.  Don’t Try to ‘Snap Out of It’. I don’t make these times come and I can’t make them go away.  I used to see them as bad… unspiritual, but I don’t anymore.  I see them as a gift from God.

2.  Slow Down. When I’m having a blue day (or week), I cancel some appointments and slow up my schedule.  I can’t cancel everything, but I can reschedule some.  God instructed Elijah to slow down when he was ‘blue’.  So, I figure that’s some pretty good advice.

3.  Pray More. My best prayer times are when I’m blue.  (For the record… orange days should also include great prayer times; but for me, they rarely do.)  As I pray, I try not to let my prayers digress into a pity party.  Instead, I spend time thanking God for the blessings he has given me.  This time of gratitude doesn’t make the clouds go away.  But it’s very good for my soul.

4.  Exercise & Sleep. We miss the importance of exercise and sleep in the Bible.  It was a NATURAL part of their DAILY routine.  They didn’t have cars, TV’s, or electricity to light the house at night.  They slept and exercised WAY MORE more than we do.

5.  Spend Time in Activities That Connect Me With God. In my last blog, I talked about how we connect with God.  For me, it’s nature and relationships.  When I’m blue, I try to increase these times.  I have some friends who listen so well.  I call them when I’m blue. Platitudes never flow from their mouths.  They’re gifts from God.  As for nature… The 10 on the Mellish Meter yesterday and today was a gift from God, just for little ole me… 

In the end, the ‘blue’ times go away.  They’re a phase.  But they’re a phase I enjoy and benefit from, rather than dread and ignore.

Join the discussion… What do you do when you have a blue day/week/month? btw… if you include any Christian platitudes in your comment, I may reach through the computer and strangle you.  (I’m more feisty when I’m blue.  LOL)

Jesus was a funny teacher.  (Maybe not as funny as Kenn Kington, but still funny.)  In today’s reading, Jesus is being humorous when he says we should cut off a hand or gouge out an eye.  Sitting around Jesus, his audience would have chuckled, listening to him.  But they would have also gotten the point… sin harms us, so treat it like a horrible infection.  Do everything we can to rid ourselves of it.

How about sharing some humor from your life that illustrates a truth about life and/or God?  I can’t wait to hear what you write…

Have a great week!

(If you’ve never posted before, click on the word “Comment” above to read everyone’s posts.  Then go to the bottom of page to add your thoughts.)

Thanks!

Karen is an experienced, caring actress and director. She works in professional theater and I’m always amazed at her work. Right now, one of the children is giving Karen suggestions. It’s hilarious! The child means well and fully believes she’s right.  And Karen is so patient with this girl, as well as the other children. Karen listens, nods, and gently tells them to follow her lead.

When I watch Karen, I see God. He’s just like that. Patient, loving, and guiding us… even when we’re sure we’re right.

God is amazing! Karen Howell is too…

- Posted from My iPhone

You’ll still find future blogs from me here. If you want a daily Bible reading plan that mirrors our sermon series, click on the “Daily Bible Reading” page on the toolbar above.

If you have any questions, email me: ken.w@westcobbchurch.com

- Ken

Today is our last Rooted reading and I’m grateful for all that’s happened during this study. You’ve taken this study seriously. Thank you! You’ve had fun with it. Thank you! Our Connection Group Leaders have worked hard at facilitating their lessons and leading by example. Thank you! Several of you have memorized scripture. Thank you! Chris Sanders has led a team of prayer warriors. Thank you! Our Pipeline & Kids Rock leaders have given us engaging family devotions. Thank you! Our Creative Arts team has engaged our hearts, eyes, and ears. Thank you! The staff did an awesome job planning and implementing Rooted (this is all homegrown – even the graphics). Thank you! The bloggers have hung in there, allowing God to use them in ways they don’t even know. Thank you! Our West Cobb Wednesday teams are amazing. Thank you! Our men’s and women’s groups are seeing exciting life change. Thank you! You took time out of your busy schedules to complete the Rooted survey (hint, hint, hint). Thank you! You have embraced this study more than I could hope. Thank you!

As a pastor, it’s exciting to have a church that’s serious about Growing with God. Several of you have mentioned that we should continue with the format. So, we’re going to try your suggestion – on a smaller scale. Here’s what we’ll do…

• I’m going to blog at least once a week, maybe more. The first blog will post by Monday morning. In that blog, I’ll give you the topic for next Sunday’s sermon and five passages that you can read throughout the week.

• I’ll give a verse of scripture from the week’s reading that you can memorize.

• I’ll also write lessons for our ABS Groups that will mirror the Sunday sermon. We’ll continue this format through the next series. Then I’ll take May – July off, allowing the groups to explore their own topics.

If you’re going to follow the blog, I HIGHLY recommend that you ‘subscribe’ to it. If you don’t know what it means to subscribe, we’ll have an explanation on the HELP Page by Monday.

In the meantime, you’ll find the Rooted survey by clicking HERE.

In Today’s Comments, I’d like for you to share how God has shaped you through Rooted…

THANK YOU!

Don’t tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with (spiritual things) and seek out visions like they do. They’re a lot of hot air, that’s all they are. They’re completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ… They sound impressive (especially when they talk) in a deep voice. They even give the illusion of being pious, humble and (spiritual). But it’s just another way of showing off, making (themselves) look important.

Some people sound so spiritual. They’re even respected by many in their church, but they’re really ”a lot of hot air.”I prefer people who are honest with themselves and God. Take Trey Fraser, for example:

Last night, Trey (age eight) found me at church and told me that he was raising money for the American Heart Association. He had his pledge form in hand and wanted me to contribute. Trey said, ”I want to be truthful with you. I am raising money for people who have heart problems, but I really want to raise alot of money so I can win the big prizes.”

I love someone who’s honest like that! After hearing Trey’s pitch, I gave him an extra dollar…

How do you feel when you talk to someone who’s a bunch of hot air? What’s God teaching you through Colossians 2?

P.S. We don’t have anyone in our church (that I know of) who’s full of hot air. I think it’s because we like to pop their balloons.

Since I’m an exceptionally wise and intelligent pastor, I offered Jan a few thoughts – some might call them suggestions – on her difficulties.  Her response?  “I just can’t buy them right now.” The platitudes that usually sound so good (never doubt in the dark what God taught you in the light; just hang in there; or perseverance produces character) just don’t work in Jan’s case.  She has already ‘hung in there’ longer than I ever would.  She has endured more heartache in any ten year period of her life than I want to experience in my entire life.

So what do I do???   That’s where Philippians helped me.  “Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.” I’m not sure what acts of kindness Paul is referring to in that verse, but I do get the sense that the church at Philippi cared for Paul – and showed it.  And that’s all I can do for Jan, care for her and show it.  God will have to take care of the rest.  He did for Paul and He will for Jan.

Have you ever had someone reach out to you when you were in an awful place?  How did it help?

What’s God teaching you through Philippians 4?