Be What You Is, Not What You Ain’t

On Easter Sunday, April 11, 1971, I learned who I really was. It was both a shock and a relief. A shock because I discovered I was not at all who I thought I was. And a relief because … I discovered I was not at all who I thought I was. Up until then, I had been a carryover of a prototypical ‘60s drug-fueled, anti-capitalist, astrology-believing, God-denying, rock-n-roll guitar-playing, tie dye-wearing… Well, you get the picture. But at 9:30 that night, I became who I was created to be when God revealed himself to me in a Paul-on-the-road-to-Damascus way that I simply couldn’t deny or refuse.

Here's a partial list of what I came to learn about myself as a new follower of Christ.

I AM GOD’S…
·       possession  (Genesis 17:8; 1 Cor 6:20)
·       child  (Jn 1:12)
·       workmanship  (Eph 2:10)
·       friend  (James 2:23)
·       vessel  (2 Tim 2:2)
·       ambassador  (2 Cor 5:20)
·       chosen  (Eph 1:4)

I HAVE BEEN…
·       redeemed by the blood of the Lamb (Rev 5:9)
·       set free from sin/condemnation  (Rom 8:1-2)
·       set free from Satan’s control  (Col 1:13)
·       chosen before foundation of world  (Eph 1:4)
·       predestined to be like Jesus  (Eph 1:11)
·       forgiven of all my trespasses  (Col 2:13)
·       given a sound mind  (2 Tim 1:7)
·       adopted into God’s family  (Rom 8:15)
·       given all things pertaining to life and godliness  (2 Pet 1:3)
·       given a ministry of reconciliation  (2 Cor 1:22)

I HAVE…
·       access to the Father  (Rom 5:2)
·       all things in Christ  (2 Cor 5:17)
·       a living hope  (1 Pet 1:3)
·       power to witness  (Acts 1:8)
·       the mind of Christ  (1 Cor 2:16)
·       peace with God  (Rom 5:1)

I CANNOT…
·       be separated from God’s love  (Rom 8:35-39)
·       perish or be lost  (Jn 10:28; 3:16)
·       be taken out of my Father’s hand  (Jn 10:29)
·       be charged or accused  (Rom 8:33)
·       be condemned  (1 Cor 11:32)

And there’s so much more! But this is not only who I am, it’s who we all are as Christ followers.

We are ‘tweenagers—living in between the already and the not yet. Already glorified, raised up, and seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Rom. 8:30; Col. 3:1; Eph. 2:6), but not yet fully transformed here on earth into the perfect image of Christ. So the list above tells me who I already am, and who you already are, in Christ. Right here. Right now.

So far, so good. But now the work begins of discovering who I am as a fellow laborer in God’s kingdom on earth. What am I here to do that I’m uniquely created and gifted for? What shape should my calling to be an ambassador for Christ with a ministry of reconciliation to a lost world take? How does who I am in Christ inform and direct who I am to be to you?

There’s an old dictum that speaks to this. Nobody knows who said it first, but many are happy to accept attribution due to its simple, folksy wisdom. You may have heard it.

Be what you is, not what you ain’t.
Because if you be what you ain’t,
Then you ain’t what you is.

I have struggled with that my entire faith journey. In all reality, I shouldn’t have. I discovered early on “what I is”. At the ripe old age of 19, a mere six months after coming to faith in a pastor’s living room followed by a brief two months of training at Campus Crusade’s (now Cru’s) summer project at Lake Tahoe (where I mostly learned how much I needed to learn), the pastor asked me to teach a high school Sunday school class. Not having been raised in the church, I was utterly unprepared to teach anything to anybody. But he persisted, and I forged ahead. He must have sensed something about me that I hadn’t, because while I was certainly in over my head teaching those who knew more than I did about God and the Christian life, I felt strangely “at home” while yet in over my head. It didn’t take long for me to realize that teaching the timeless truths of Scripture and encouraging growth in faith was my place in the Kingdom.

And that should have been that. But it wasn’t. I loved what I believed God had called and prepared me to be and do. It was a joy I had never experienced doing anything else. And yet, I felt guilty that I wasn’t doing more. Doing what others were doing with great joy. Serving the homeless. Ministering to people in prison. Sacrificing a life here to grow Christ in others globally. Writing best-selling, life-changing books. Fixing people’s cars. Speaking to national and international audiences. Fearlessly sharing Christ with strangers in line at the market. Great things that bring great recognition. Great things that bring no recognition. But all things for the glory of God.

The list is endless. The guilt is crushing. It breeds dissatisfaction with self and doubt of worth to God. The Holy Spirit has had to work overtime in me to bring to me to a place of peace with what I is and what I ain’t. I’m finally okay that I ain’t you. And that’s a good thing, because you’re already taken, and I’d be a terrible you.

So this is what I is. I’m a local church guy. And, typically, a smallish local church guy. I’m not a goer. I’m a sender. A teacher, trainer, and equipper of goers. I’m an encourager of those who need a friend, a boost, a nudge (and sometimes a swift-but-loving kick) in the right direction. I’m a starter, not a maintainer. I’m a seeker of truth. And I pray that in all this, I’m an example of a passionate, faithful, servant of my own family and the family of God.

I’ve learned to be okay with what I is and with what I ain’t. How about you? I know I’m not alone in this struggle. If you need to talk, I’m here to listen. Feel free to email me at blog@foundrybend.org. The peace and joy of finding your place in God’s sovereign plan is waiting for us all. Seek and you shall find what you is. Peace and joy awaits.