One of the serving values God put in place at Blue Ridge centered on our attitude.
Have you ever heard the quote, “People try church thinking they've tried God”? This shapes how they think of God. Does He exist? Is He good? They're making decisions about who God is based on us.
I'm grateful this is something God does through us and not something we carry. We would not be able to do it. But with a surrendered heart, a surrendered life, He will do this through us.
I laugh when I think of my first understanding of this, when God was first bringing it to our attention. My mind was that we needed to have a positive attitude. It would look like this: There would be a bunch of really nice people who do not know God. We just needed to be nicer than them!
I found out that's not sustainable. That's not what God meant at all. As God went deeper and deeper in us, He showed us that we need the attitude of Christ. He didn't want us just to be nice people.
We talk about being transformed into the image of Christ when we become children of God. But HE doesn't force it. Are we even in this process of being transformed of God and what would that look like?
In this value of attitude, what we're really talking about is us being surrendered as His children and being available and being in this process of being transformed by Him. As I was praying and praying about this, one thing He did was to give me a better understanding.
He gave me this visual: I'm standing in this big circle and right in the middle of the circle is God's design for me. As things come in my life, hard things, unfair things, I first look at whether these are consequences to my behavior or decisions. But if that's not the case, the question is: What do I do with that?
Do I lean in saying, “God, I know nothing touches me without Your permission. I am here. I want to learn what You have for me or maybe You have someone watching who does not know You and You want me to walk through this in a way that reflects You? Or do I bail? Do I leave “the circle,” stomp my foot, fold my arms and grumble, “This is not fair.” Where is my joy, my peace...Where is God? He is in the middle of His design for me. I am the one who left.
In the next post, we'll learn that it's not about us!