This week I’m blogging about some of our pre-conceived ideas about God, faith and Christianity. You can see part one here.

Idea # 2

You have to work in a certain way to be a somebody for God

So often we think we need to go through a certain process to enable God to use us. We tell people that unless they go through membership they can’t be a somebody in the church. We tell those who feel called to a vocation in ministry that they must go through a long (and expensive) process of schooling before they can get the required certificates needed. We tell others they must first be servants so we give them roles that a fifth grader can do and inform them that it’s all about serving in the little things. Then we demand a certain lifestyle all in the name of Jesus Christ.

Well some of those things are valid, I suppose, yet most of them are not biblical and are man’s processes not God’s journey.

The apostle Paul lays it out in Philippians 3:2-7. He said he thought because he was a pure blooded Jew, because he went through the Pharisee ‘process’ and because he lived by the letter of the law of God that that would make him a somebody! Then Paul met Jesus and soon found out that Jesus isn’t impressed with all that, he was only impressed with the heart of Paul. Paul realized that day the things he once thought we valuable and essential were in fact worthless.

What man-made process are you going through in order to be a somebody for God?

Often mans process which once was put there to help Gods process becomes the center stage. Listen! God is not impressed with degrees, with courses, with living by the letter of the law and by all the things that man likes. God is only pleased when you surrender your heart totally to him. Then and only then can you be a somebody for God.