In my last blog, a friend of mine, Chris, brought out an interesting concept that I want to examine a bit: he mentioned “do to become” progression that every Christian should go through.
What is the idea of this progression exactly? Think of it this way: let’s say you want to be a tennis player. Your dad gives you a racket and a can of balls, and you are ready to go out and play.
At that point, are you a tennis player? I would say yes. You have the equipment, and you have the ability to step on the court and play. As soon as you get that racket, you are a “tennis player.” With that being said, would you be a very good tennis player if you never took lessons? If you never practiced a forehand, backhand, serve, or volley? You have the ability to play, and you have the equipment necessary, but you have to put in the work to get better! If you actually wanted to do anything on the court, you would have to be willing to practice. To become a tennis player who can actually make an impact, you have to “do!”
Similarly, as soon as we accept Christ, we are Christians. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and we are ambassadors for Him. But we must be willing to practice. To “do” spiritual disciplines and work on our strokes in order to become a Christian worth his salt. In order to “become” more like Christ.
When you are practicing at any sport, there is never really a day when you wake up and suddenly you are the athlete you wanted to be. Instead, you just realize that over the course of years of practice, you have “become” an athlete.
We all want to “become” more like Christ. The catch is that there is no real fast track (after salvation). You must be willing to pick up your cross daily and practice the disciplines. As you “do,” you will “become!”
Thanks for the shout out!
The awesome thing about “becoming” is what we are becoming like–Christ! God in human form, the definition of perfection, pure holiness and righteousness. This is the restoration of the divine image that we are talking about, something unfathomable. We have the gift of the Holy Spirit and the security of knowing that we are fully known, as Christ became one of us, and fully loved, as God sent Christ to willingly die for us. This is something worth living and striving for. This is what we were made for! Nothing else you can “do” or “become” can compare to this, so why not become the best!