The Courage to Be
The Problem to be, Define to have, to do, and to be
Dr. Paul Tillich, a theologian, in his book concludes the importance of God revealing Himself to you to understand who you really are. And that revelation occurs in your doubt, and this needs much courage to undertake.
we need to look at defining ourselves
through having, doing or being. In other words. I have children, I perform
fatherly duties, I am a father. Simple, but being is much more involved than
our word choices. The best example of being is “I am” which is found in Exodus.
Exodus 3:14 King James Version
14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
Exodus 3:14 English Standard Version
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And
he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
His personal name was “I am” this was the
personal name of God, but the humour was still there in that there is an
absurdity that the creator who created everything could be named. More
importantly the “I am” as a name also states that there is nothing above this
name. God’s existence in not conditional on anything else. No one could ever
rightfully claim the name, “I am”. That is except for Jesus.
“Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to
you, before Abraham was, I am’” (John 8:58 ESV).
Jesus and God are fully aware of who they
are. It is important to point out that these are not titles that they use, but
their genuine and perfect definitions of who they are.
Dr. Eric Fromm was a psychoanalyst, he
posits three states of how we might go through life defining ourselves.
I am what I have.
To
I am what I do.
To
I am what I am.
Defining ourselves by having, doing and
being.
|
|
To have → |
To do→ |
To be*→ |
|
Ex. |
I have a math degree. |
I do math. |
I am a mathematician.
|
|
|
I have a wife. |
I perform my duties. |
I am a husband. |
|
|
I have faith. |
I practice my faith. |
I am in faith. |
Taking the first example, we can say, “I
have a math degree; therefore, I am a mathematician.” You are defined by what
you possess; however, our possessions can be lost, lose value or validity.
Others might be skeptical of your claim of being a mathematician if you cannot
do math. The same is true for Christians who say I have faith; therefore, I am
a Christian. If that is as far as it goes, we probably classify them as nominal
Christians.
James 2:14-17 English Standard Version
James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if
someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one
of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them
the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself,
if it does not have works, is dead.
The next stage is doing, or “I do math;
therefore, I am a mathematician.” We like this better because we are doing
something, It might seem tempting for Christians to say, “I practice my faith;
therefore, I am a Christian.”
However, Galatians 2:16 has this to say,
Galatians 2:16 yet we know that a person is
not justified[b] by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we
also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ
and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be
justified.
Also, Paul reminds of us if our
righteousness could be obtained through the law, what was the point of Jesus
dying on the cross.
Galatians 2:21 I do not nullify the grace
of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no
purpose.
We might be able to say we are followers of
Christ, and our actions would define us, but we are certainly not justified by
our actions.
This is one of the problems with defining
yourself by doing is that you have to keep up those actions and you are
constantly proving to yourself and others through your actions who you are.
The mathematician has his degree and has
done math and continues to do math. He is aware that he is not the greatest
mathematician, he has made mistakes and makes mistakes, and has flaws that need
to be fixed, but he also purposely, willfully and confidently lives a life as a
mathematician.
1 John 1:8-10
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10
If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 John 2: 10 -11 ESV
10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the
light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his
brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where
he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Going back to the light, as Christians we
need to look at ourselves and become aware that we have sin and have sinned. In
fact, if we walk in the light because we love the light, we will be very aware
of our failings.
This can be painful and really shakes our
confidence when we see who we really are. We may even question who we are or
what we are doing in God’s kingdom.
Only God knows and understands our hearts.
That is why we need that Jesus help to be healed.
Hebrews 4:13 (ESV)
And no creature is hidden from his sight,
but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
It takes courage to see how truly repulsive we are in the light and still accept that God loves us. We also have to accept
it is Christ in us that allows us to be.
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no
longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the
flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Jesus is the great “I am” and lives in us.
We need to accept that he loved us before we knew him.
Romans 5:8 English Standard Version
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
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