W. W. J. D. or Free to be Me?

OK, so maybe I am a bit slow on the uptake sometimes.  I admit it.  Sometimes I guess it takes me a little while to piece things together.

 

A very good example is something I have been pondering for a while.  A few weeks back I read the book The Shack by William P. Young.  If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it.  It will definitely make you think about you relationship with God and the way God works in our lives.  It may even change your life.  I think it is that good.

 

But I digress.  Back to my occasional dim-wittedness.  There is a short discussion in The Shack where Papa and Mack are discussing what God's freedom in our lives means.  Mack brings up the "W. W. J. D." craze that was popular a few years back and is still around in some circles.  Papa tells Mack that while "W. W. J. D." is a nice thought, it misses the point of a free relationship with God.  The book doesn't belabor this point, and I was admittedly left scratching my head.

 

This morning while on the drive to work I heard the song "Free" by Francesca Battistelli.  I have probably heard this song ten times this week already.  But suddenly this morning it dawned on me.  The song includes the lines, "I'm free to be me / And you're free to be you."  That is what The Shack was getting at, too.

 

In God, there is no universal right and wrong, at least according to The Shack (I think this could be debated, but that is another discussion).  But God does not want us to all do the same thing.  He wants us to do our thing for Him.  While "W. W. J. D." may be a starting point for people, if God wanted nothing but imitators of Christ, he would have made us all like Christ.  But we are all different with different talents, different approaches to problems, and different thought patterns.

 

By living in God's will, we are free to use our own unique talents in our own unique ways. 

 

Jesus, as a perfect human and the Son of God, had his way of doing things.  I, as an imperfect human and son of John, my father, will not do everything the same.  But if I am focusing on God and working to expand other's knowledge of God and trying to develop God's kingdom here on earth, God will be with me and help me be successful.

 

And by all means, be free to be you, as well.  Live for God, but use the talents God gave you.  And use your mind, since God made you unique, and no one else will have exactly the same perspective as you do.  That is what freedom in God really means.

 

God Bless,

Jay.