Living with Intent.

Bethany's most recent post is about living life with intent. I could leave her a comment on her blog, but I thought I'd write a response here instead, since this venue will allow me to muse more on the points she raises.

Part of what she talks about is the qualities we see in Jesus' life, and how these qualities indicate a life of intent:

1. Timeliness. At just the right time Jesus came to earth. He didn't come 10 years ago, he didn't come 10,000 years ago. He came with a sense of timeliness that I know I don't understand. But it was right.
2. Proclamation. Jesus proclaimed His intent and purpose. He said that He was the bread of life. He said He would die and be lifted up again. He didn't stay quiet about His passion for our freedom or His purpose on this earth.
3. Obedience. Jesus was obedient to His Father. He submitted His own will to that of His Father when in the Garden of Gethsemene He accepted the cup of suffering.
   
4. Imitation. Jesus said only what the Father wanted Him to. He imitated His Father.

So, the question now is whether or not we are living with intent. And really, Jesus' intent was no more clear than when He pointed His face directly towards Jerusalem and He went resolutely forwards - towards His death.

Timeliness, proclamation, obedience, imitation. We are called to these, just as Christ was called to them. If we know our purpose, our calling, our vocation, we must act on it with intent, trusting that we are being led to make correct decisions as we do so.

The lyrics of the DC Talk song Time Is:

You got a gift and you best start using it
Cause if you don't you're gonna wind up losing it
Just like the brother who buried it deep
The task was simple but the price was steep
We got a mission while we're on this earth
We need to tell people 'bout our second birth
Get busy like a school boy makin' an "A"
Cause time my brother is tickin' away

(chorus)
Time is tickin' away, tick tick tickin' away
Time is tickin' away, tick tick tickin' away
Time is tickin' away, tick tick tickin' away
Time is tickin' away, tick tick tickin' away

Right now is the time that we gotta get with it
The gift that He's given ain't just an exhibit
But a tool that He's given us to use for His sake
And just as He's given He can surely take
The signs of the times are dropping like flies
The cries of the people around us imply
They're lookin' for an answer that we already know
But time is definitely on the go

All the money in the world
Can never stop the hands of time
And a wasted day in your life
Is more than a crime

(repeat chorus)

Time is tickin' away, time is tickin'
Time is tickin' away, time is tickin'
You got a gift and you best start using it
Cause if you don't you're gonna wind up losing it
Get busy like a school boy makin' an "A"
Cause time my brother is tickin' away

(repeat chorus)

Time is tickin', it keeps on tickin'
Time is tickin' away (6x)

Whoa, wait a minute...

And that is the point of what I'm saying here. Really, it's the point of this entire blog. Don't waste your time. Find out what you're meant to do - and do it.

I'm still working on finding out, but as I learn I take action. There isn't time to sit around wondering whether or not I should do something that I know God has told me to do. I have to just act on things, do as He tells me to. Waiting could mean a life.

Timeliness, proclamation, obedience, imitation. We are called to these, just as Christ was called to them. If we know our purpose, our calling, our vocation, we must act on it with intent, trusting that we are being led to make correct decisions as we do so.

Proclaim Christ. Proclaim salvation. Live a life of proclamation. Proclaim the Truth from the rooftops - proclaim truth, as well.

I am working on this. I have a new blog now, where I will be writing truth about disability. And here... here I write of Truth.

Timeliness, proclamation, obedience, imitation. We are called to these, just as Christ was called to them. If we know our purpose, our calling, our vocation, we must act on it with intent, trusting that we are being led to make correct decisions as we do so.

Obey God's call. Do as He would have you do, in all things. Seek His will. Following your own path merely wastes time... time that we do not have.

I fail at this on occasion. But I am learning, and someday I know I will see Him smile, and I will hear Him say that I did a good job.

Timeliness, proclamation, obedience, imitation. We are called to these, just as Christ was called to them. If we know our purpose, our calling, our vocation, we must act on it with intent, trusting that we are being led to make correct decisions as we do so.

As Christ imitated the Father, so we must imitate Christ. Emulate Him in all you are able. Act in faith and trust.

I strive to reach this goal, as well. I've written of it often.

Bethany talks about how there are many people in this world who do not live with intent. They merely exist, taking openings as they come up, letting life happen to them instead of happening to life.

Is a life without action truly life?

I can't sit idle. It's not a part of who I am. Perhaps God created me as this (as Bethany put it earlier today) "'pursues distraction' personality type" so that I would refuse to sit idly by and watch things happen. I need to be involved. I need to do. I have to be a part of things.

I have been a watcher for far too long.

In the Marvel Universe, the Watcher is a being who is forbidden to act on events; he merely watches them (and all possibilities in alternate universes) unfold, and he documents them. In the Highlander series, the watchers observe and document, but do not interfere in, the affairs of the Immortals; in Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and spinoffs), a watcher is a person appointed to teach and train the new Slayer, and to keep a journal relating the events of the Slayer's life.

In all three of these (yes, fictional and demonstrably geeky examples), the watchers eventually cease their inactive observation. They get involved. They step up, and they do something.

There are consequences for this action. Marvel's Watcher gets killed. Joe (Duncan MacLeod's watcher) almost dies. Giles (Buffy's watcher) gets hurt several times in the course of the series, and his supposed successor, Wesley, actually becomes one of the "bad guys" for a while (during Angel).

But at least they did something. And because they did, lives were saved. People were able to have a real future.

So act. Don't worry about the consequences. If you are doing as you are called to do, then only good will come of it. Even if you are killed.

"Though He slay me, yet will I trust inHim." Job had it right.

And I wondered why that verse was given me.