“Do as I say, not as I do!” are dangerous words to come out of a parent’s/grandparent’s mouth. While we hope that children learn more from our words than our actions, the opposite is true. It is our actions that will influence our children. They’ll notice choices we make, words we use, feelings we express and the things we do. They are more likely to imitate our actions than to follow our words.
It’s the same with God. God’s actions speak to us about who God is and about God’s will for our lives. Jesus said, “Love God with all your heart, mind, soul & strength. Love your neighbour as you love yourself.” Then with his actions he showed exactly how to do just that. Over and over again, the psalm writers express praise for God’s steadfast love which they have experienced in their lives.
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we pray, “Thy will be done!” But the question is – do we actually welcome God’s will to be done in our lives? Or do we fear God’s will? Do we fear that God’s will might have us end up with some disease or tragedy in our lives? Are we afraid that God’s will might lead us on a path that is too difficult and too challenging? Do we hope that God might not notice us so that we can have fun and joy in our lives instead of experiencing that heavy, onerous “will of God?”
I know the feeling. I know the fear and trembling with which I try to pray those words. But isn’t that odd! If I believe that God does as God says (rather than proclaiming to us “Do as I say, not as I do!), then God’s will for my life is about joy, compassion, love, healing and, yes, delight! Why would I not invite those gifts from God into my life?
But deep down, I think we fear that God is judging us and will punish us – at least ME, since I know that I am not perfect. John 3:16, a much beloved passage of scripture, challenges this very idea of God as a severe and punishing judge:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned, but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment that light has come into the world.”
Think about what this tells us about God – through what God does!! God gives his Son in love to the world. God seeks ways that people can have life in all its fullness. God did not send the Son as judge to condemn. Those who follow the Way of Jesus know there is no condemnation. Those who choose ways of pain, evil, hurt and destruction are condemned to less than a full life already – but what is the judgment that God offers – light! for the world so that God’s love and compassion may be seen.
When Jesus says to us, “Love your neighbour as you love yourself,” he’s not saying to us, “Do as I say, not as I do.” He’s asking us to do the very thing he did in caring for lepers, widows, outcast, children and strangers. God is not saying, “Do as I say, not as I do.” God is asking us to welcome into our lives compassion, love, healing and light – the very things that God offered in Jesus, and to generations of people before Jesus. God is not judging & punishing us and then asking us to love others.
This morning, I found myself praying, “Thy will be done!” suddenly and without thinking. And it was a welcome prayer this time. It felt comforting to pray those words – a gift of grace from God’s spirit as it sinks into my soul that God’s will for us is steadfast love & compassion, joy, healing, peace & light. “Thy will be done” is a prayer welcoming God’s gifts into our lives and promising that we will “Do as God does” for our children and grandchildren and for all of our neighbours around the world.
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