in Jesus, you and i are a masterpiece. beautiful, isn’t it?

but then what? is the “becoming” process finished? obviously, the argument would be that we can’t become what we already are. and if we’re already a masterpiece, how can we become anything better?

did you get all that?

remember what ephesians 2:10 was saying…

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

after the masterpiece, we actually have a mission. an opportunity to “become.” when we’re faced with the challenge of who are we going to become, i say…

let’s be people who choose to do the most good.

yes, you are a masterpiece. a masterpiece who is, for the sake of Jesus, always choosing do the good that is laid out in front of us.

where do you need to choose to do the most good? be the masterpiece God created, one that chooses to become about doing the most good.

i know, i know. it’s really only been a day since we (and by “we” i mostly mean myself) started even thinking about who we are and who we’re becoming. with that in mind i thought it would be fitting to remind us who God says we are.

obviously, there is a process in which we must decide who it is we are becoming and who it is we want to become. this is personal. it’s for you and me to decide… on our own, in the scary and secluded places of our heart.

but, and that’s a “big but” (even it only appears regular size), when we are in step with Jesus there is something different about who we ARE. this greatly enhances our journey of becoming. if we have actually placed our lives in the hands of God, no matter where we find ourselves in the whole “He becomes greater, i become less” battle, then God has some specific things to say about who we are in Him.

here’s what i find encouraging on a life-changing level:

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10 NLT)

did you catch that? we ARE (not becoming) God’s masterpiece. you are a freaking MASTERPIECE. and not like a mona lisa level masterpiece but like a view from the top of mount everest masterpiece. a masterpiece that defies our finite human minds. a masterpiece that was created by the greatest masterpiece Maker of all time.

yes, we are on a journey to become more like Jesus. however, we are not at ground zero. we are not nothing, trying to become something.

we are a MASTERPIECE. a masterpiece that is deciding to make something of our lives, a masterpiece that is going to become the person God created us to be.

not quite as daunting as before, is it?

here’s what i really meant to say:

you (and me) are not becoming who you’re supposed to be if you are putting yourself first. quite frankly, and deep down you know it’s true, when God BECOMES the priority in your life you can feel the becoming process moving in the “right” direction.

when you become less, when i become less we begin to move farther away from becoming the person that we don’t want to be.

john 3:30 couldn’t be more clear. God must become greater, and i must become less.

i did say this how i meant to yesterday (believe it or not) when i shared that this process is frightening and debilitating and overwhelming. when we BECOME less we lose control. and that scares the crap out of us… at least it’s awfully messy for me. it stinks.

there it is. become who God created you to be. use the new beginning that this season brings to embrace the challenge of making Him greater and making you less.

following up on this challenge will not, that’s right, NOT, make your life easier (let that sink in) but it WILL make your life better.

let’s become who God created us to be. anything less is not worth living…

the lack of vacation isn’t all that sad if we look at this new season as a new beginning. a fresh start.

right now, i’m walking into a new season and i get to decide who i’m going to become. i suppose you have that option as well.

i’m asking myself questions that go like this:

what will be the highest priorities in my life during this new beginning?

how will i be remembered?

what do i want to accomplish?

how will i accomplish what i want to accomplish?

what bad habits do i need to kill?

what good habits do i need to resurrect?

you get the idea. and even as i look at those questions i get a bit overwhelmed. maybe even frightened. new beginnings are like that. yes they offer something fresh but they also offer the unknown, and i don’t know about you, but i don’t do so well with the unknown.

i have tried to find an overarching, all encompassing solution (or answer) to my fear of the unknown as i step into a new beginning. i found my inspiration in the bible, and honestly, it’s powerful but not all that easy.

john 3:30 says,

He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

if i’m going to become who i believe i want to become in this new season… then the short answer is for me to BECOME LESS, and God to BECOME GREATER.

i’ll let you know what life looks like in this great unknown. and why don’t you let me know what you find.

who do you want to become with your new beginning?

i began to see the heartbeat of serving in another country.

in ethiopia we do not say, “here we are to lift you up.”  we say, “here we are to become one with you.” (i think i adapted this quote from shane claiborne).

and so as ate injera, dabo (bread), and tibs together i started to let this sink in – i am becoming one with those around me. 

when i stand in the trench of the wall’s foundation with michale (another new friend) and dump rocks, i am not lifting him up but rather striving to become one with him.  i must remain humble because, in fact, unity of vision requires us to see each other as equal (because we are).  or when i share a barilla (stretcher-like devide for hauling rock) with my good friend yoseph (and our translator both times i’ve been in ethiopia) we talk about our dreams and our goals and our hopes.  with my ego set aside (a hard thing for me to do), i am not in that moment to lift him up with my giant american arms, i am becoming one with a friend.

when i take the time to let the Spirit in these relationships (and all relationships), instead of trying to maintain control, i get to experience the pleasure and joy of becoming one with those around me.  let’s face it – ethiopia does not need me (or our team) to come and lift it up… throwing money or american culture or “right” way thinking at it.  ethiopia needs to know that we have come with a different intention, a different heart, and a different persepective.

i pour into ethiopia for two weeks in may because i want to say, and it must ring true,

“i was here to become one with you.  and i followed through.”

my shoulders, back muscles, and forearms felt fire pulsing through them with the first lift.  i was on the verge of complaining about the long hike as the fatigue of the work, the movement of God in my life, and the mental excursion of learning amharic all collided at once.  my sour attititude could have quickly infected our entire team.  i was steps away from bringing us all down and simply going through the motions.

thankfully, my friend dylan was there to work alongside (or behind me on the barilla) me.  as we worked and spoke together(about nothing and about things that meant something) i was pulled from the duldrums i tried to create.

it proved to be yet another glaring reminder that i am not (nor, we as humans) meant to go it alone.  we require, for the vitality of our souls, relationship and community and friendship.  must be why jesus didn’t even walk through life alone.  i want to take all these “revelations” home with me to a place where i try to do too much by my own strength, on my own time, in my own office lest i begin to think it’s all about me.

plus, i’m finding that life lived in the presence and company of

we’re trekking across the compound and dumping rocks in the a trench for the foundation of the wall.  let’s just say, “i rock at this!”  after only a few trips the sky begins to fall.  hard, drenching rain.

as i’m learning to embrace situations out of my control, i embrace even the rain.  i choose to stand in it.  i choose to feel it and taste it and love it.  i choose to run in the rain (with arms spread like wings… don’t ask) and play in it.  i choose to take the moment of being rained out (the disappointment of a “wasted” day) and turn it into something meaningful, or at the very least, memorable.

we played stick ball and threw rocks and took pictures and told jokes.  we sang and laughed and probably frightened our ethiopian friends who had little desire to stand in the rain.

we had a blast.

and so i wonder what it would look like to embrace the proverbial rain with this same joy of the moment.  what if every time the rain poured on our lives we still found some reason to celebrate or laugh or sing?  what if we looked for God in each of those downpours?  and instead of bemoaning getting soaked, we jumped around in the sprinkler shower with joy in our hearts as we look forward to sharing God’s glory. 

i much prefer playing in those sprinklers with the neighbor kids than moping in the rain.  i’m learning, and thinking, it’s all in how we look at it.  especially when we’re looking up.

and so, with our tardy arrival forgiven, we set about hauling large rocks to the trench.  we are buidling the foundation (what a privilege to lay the foundation of anything) and within about an hour and a half we are met with our daily buna (coffee) and kolo break.  we’ve learned (a process, to say the least) to embrace this time of rest and relationship.  here’s why (an excerpt from Follow Me To Freedom by shane claiborne):

“I remember hearing the story of some young missionionaries that came down to Central America during one of the civil wars.  With youthful passion and a deep sense of urgency they began rescuing people’s possessions from homes that had been destroyed, holding kids that had been traumatized, cooking, cleaning, doing just about anything they could to help.  At one point though, they became a bit frustrated by a group of women who were sitting on their porch sipping tea when there was so much work to be done.  The kids went over to the women and said, ‘How can you be sipping tea in the middle of a revolution?’  The women looked delicately at the kids, and with a large, gentle smile that comes with age and wisdom, one of the women said, ‘How can we not drink tea during a revolution?  There will always be work to do.  There is always a crisis at the door.  We’ve seen young missionaries come and go, and we are thankful for you.  But when you leave we will still be here.  And if we do not sip tea, we cannot make it until tomorrow.’  That’s the sort of wisdom and pace that can sustain us for the long haul.  True movements and true leaders are not measured in years, but in decades.  That kind of longevity takes not only working our tails off, but also sipping tea together.”

this is Bright Hope.  this is Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  taking a moment to rest and relate is another thing i’m learning as i strive to embrace each moment that God gives me.  i will work my butt off AND take the time for some buna and relationship.

so far, it’s well worth it.

then i realized i had so much more to learn than i had to offer.  last year when i was here the project (building the wall… in case you  have short term memory loss) had a foreman who liked to talk on his cell phone, give orders, and insert himself in the work only near its completion.  maybe, at the time, that’s what the project needed.  or maybe not.

this time around the project has a new bossman named, mamaroo (yes, the coolest name ever!).  from him, i have everything to learn.

as the leader of the project he immerses himself in the work.  if that’s not admirable enough, his leadership, from an outside view, shows him doing the same amount and type of work (hard manual labor) as everyone else under his leading.  essentially, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to make the project a success.  he cares about the people working with him and the project itself.  after 6 days of work, i’d say that mamaroo is the definition of servant leadership.

and so it stands, as i set foot in ethiopia for the second time, i am reminded that i’m nothing greater than these ethiopian friends who i’m working alongside.  maybe i do have something to teach or offer (and hopefully i freely give of that) but i’m finding i have so much to learn.

ethiopia is teaching me to have a moldable, teachable spirit because there are leaders like mamaroo with valuable lessons to teach.

honestly, all this learning might just change my life.

while we sang i took some tim to just listen (not common in my life).  i was reminded of our travel the day before.  the winding road that took us high and then low.  twenty kilometers taking 2 hours.  multiple construction tunnels.  unplanned lengthy stops in the middle of the highway…

the more i thought about the travel events the more i realized it was an analogy for following Jesus.

as i take up my cross and follow Him, the road i walk will wind through the mountains and valleys of my life.  i may not know the destination or “how much longer” but i must trust the one that knows the Way.  i will move through tunnels in my life that filled with darkness but if i press on toward Jesus i will find the light at the end.  and i will most certainly (often against my wishes) meet unplanned detours and stops in the midst of my journey.

the challenge for me is to trust the One driving the van, believing that He has my best interest in mind.

and so, as i trust (or try to trust God), i will do my best to sing in the moment and embrace where He has me now… ethiopia or montana or wherever else He leads.

i will sing.  and i will follow.