"It is what it is"...or is it?

I recently read an article full of tips for the parents of teenagers. The list included, "Don't be angry with your son when he calls in the middle of the night drunk and in need of a ride home," and "Just remind your daughter about the prevalence of STDs- don't expect her not to sleep around."

Unfortunately, these standards are not much lower than those that Christian parents use with their kids. I was just speaking with a woman whose daughter was dating a guy and broke up with him because he wanted to sleep with her. Soon after their break-up, he left for a year-long overseas missions trip.

Even more unfortunate is the fact that this isn't just a problem faced by teenagers when it comes to their romantic flings- it's a problem that Christians brush aside every single day.

All of the time I hear "it is what it is" spoken about all sorts of things. However, if you've ever read the Bible, you'll likely be able to remember the fact that Jesus never spoke those words. In fact, He wasn't ever satisfied with lukewarm, everyday, "blah" things. He was on fire for His Father, and that fire took over everything that He did and said. (He even cooked fish for His disciples, and I'll bet you ten shekels that it was pretty darn good fish.)

I was reading Psalm 115 the other day and the fact that we are Christ's only vessels came over me. We're it. Without us, He has no body. Sadly enough, though, often even with us He has no body because we're not willing to strive for excellence in our walk with Him and be His hands and feet to those around us.

It's worth noting here that our walk with Him is just that- a walk. It has nothing to do with how long we read the Bible in the morning or how long with pray at night, as important as those things are, because no one else sees them. What they see is our work. Saying that our alone time with God is the only important part of our Christian walk is like saying that a huddle is the only important part of a football game. No one pays hundereds of dollars for a ticket to sit and watch people huddle- they come to see the game.

You might argue that your job isn't spiritual, your school isn't about Christ, and the work that you do can't have anything to do with God. That's not important. I don't care if you're a plumber- God is all about excellence, and if what we do isn't excellent than it doesn't reflect Him. Thankfully, the opposite is true, too.

"Not to us, Lord, not to us but to Your name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness. Why do the nations say, 'Where is their God?'" Psalm 115:1-2

They say "Where is their God?" because we're the only way the nations can see Him.