Doing vs. Being

     "We focus on what God wants us to do and forget the kind of people He wants us to be." I read that line in Forgotten God by Francis Chan, and I just had to stop and think on it for a while. Oh, how that is so true! Without realizing it, we have changed our relationship with God to a works-based religion instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us into who God wants us to be, a reflection of Jesus Christ. In fact, in most churches we teach a works-based religion although we "preach" salvation by grace through faith. We don't do it intentionally. It's just a focus change. Maybe it's one of Satan's schemes to tweak something that seems good into something that is really bad.
     Think about it. There's a different focal point for each senario. When we focus on what God wants us to do, i.e. read the Bible, pray, go to church, keep yourself pure, don't gossip, etc, the focus becomes about us. We are the ones trying to carry out what should be the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. When we succeed at living what seems to be a good life, we feel good about ourselves and we may even receive praise from others. 
     When we are focused on who God wants us to be, then that leads to the kind of transformation that can ONLY be done by the Holy Spirit. It takes us out of the picture. We can no longer fake living the "good Christian life." We are so depraved that we cannot manifest what we need in order to live like Christ, so if we are being transformed into the image of Christ, then it has to be the work of the Holy Spirit. We would have to live according to Romans 12:1 as "a living and holy sacrifice" where we are dead to our own desires but living by the power of God. Our lives become an act of worship that points to the glory of Christ.
     On the surface the differences seem so subtle, but with a deeper look, doing and being are world's apart. I want to be like Christ. I want to exude His presence. I want my life to be an act of worship. I don't want to just settle for a check list of actions that if I do or don't do, then I'm good to go. I pray that the church, the bride of Christ, realizes the difference. I would imagine that if we all focused more on being like Christ, then we would make a huge impact on this lost and desperate world.