Seed Carriers and Image Bearers

For a long time in church circles, I have noticed three ways we engage with God.

1. It’s all up to God. We seem to think that whatever happens to us or needs to be done is God’s responsibility: His grace, forgiveness, and plans. It’s true that He does an incredible thing in us that releases us, saves us, and makes us into a new person through Jesus, but we have a response and a responsibility for what He has done. We can’t just keep throwing our hands up, saying that God’s got this, and do nothing to cooperate with Him.
2. It’s all up to me now. So many get trapped thinking that God has done His part, and now it is all on me. God did not save you and then turn to the angels and say, “Smile and wave boys, smile and wave.” Just as much as we can not remove ourselves from the picture, we can not remove God – just because we want to remain in control and live in blame, shame, and condemnation. Because we are not working with God, we begin to think we are working for God. WE have to work to say thank you; WE have to do things that get through challenges. This way of thinking that God worked once in our lives at salvation and now its up to us, leads to defeat. We can not do it!
3. It’s God With Us. Now we are starting to think straight. God and you – with God and me. Any relationship with another human being is better when we walk out that relationship WITH them. Our relationship with God is the same; we do it WITH Him. We take the best and the worst of who we are, and we journey daily with Him, turning the best into better and our weaknesses into strengths. In every conversation we have in our heads, we include Him in those chats. In everything we are about to do, we take a moment to check in with the Holy Spirit. In every moment of failure, we let the power of His redemption transform. But there is more to God with US. There is an US in that statement that we forget. We see God in our lives when we get to share Him through us to others. We can not do life WITH God on our own. We need others who need God to see Him with us. We need others who have God to be encouraged by God with us. WE ARE BOTH SEED BEARERS AND IMAGE CARRIERS.