Unbridled

What does it mean to "be" well pleasing to God? We all have our own ideas on the subject, but I recently spent some time meditating on the verse in 2Corinthians 5:9-11 that says:

Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.

I struggled quite a while on it and could not find a peace about it until the Lord brought me to one of the smallest words in the entire scripture. The word is small but quite significant and our understanding of that word is critical to the understanding of the scripture. The word is simply "be". (I made it bold & purple in the verse)

As I pondered the meaning of this small simple word, I decided to find out exactly what that word really means and how it applies to the verse. Below is the definitions give by some of the common dictionary's. But in a nutshell, I understand the word not as an action, but as a position or even more basically as an existence, or in scriptural terms - "abiding". Not an action, but location, a relationship, an identity, or a life. Yes, I would agree that actions will come out of the existence, but I must first "be" before I can "do". (all things through Christ...)

I ask you to read the definitions below and see what you conclude. Is the be an action or an identity. Let me know what you conclude. Also, how does your conclusion affect your understanding of the verse?

Blessings to you in Christ,

Mark

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Definitions: ( I have included the definitions in their entirety so as not to manipulate the outcome towards a desired end.)

be:

verb and auxiliary verb, present singular 1st person am, 2nd are or (Archaic) art, 3rd is, present plural are; past singular 1st person was, 2nd were or (Archaic) wast or wert, 3rd was, past plural were; present subjunctive be; past subjunctive singular 1st person were, 2nd were or (Archaic) wert, 3rd were; past subjunctive plural were; past participle been; present participle be·ing.
–verb (used without object)
1. to exist or live: Shakespeare's “To be or not to be” is the ultimate question.
2. to take place; happen; occur: The wedding was last week.
3. to occupy a place or position: The book is on the table.
4. to continue or remain as before: Let things be.
5. to belong; attend; befall: May good fortune be with you.
6. (used as a copula to connect the subject with its predicate adjective, or predicate nominative, in order to describe, identify, or amplify the subject): Martha is tall. John is president. This is she.
7. (used as a copula to introduce or form interrogative or imperative sentences): Is that right? Be quiet! Don't be facetious.
–auxiliary verb
8. (used with the present participle of another verb to form the progressive tense): I am waiting.
9. (used with the present participle or infinitive of the principal verb to indicate future action): She is visiting there next week. He is to see me today.
10. (used with the past participle of another verb to form the passive voice): The date was fixed. It must be done.
11. (used in archaic or literary constructions with some intransitive verbs to form the perfect tense): He is come. Agamemnon to the wars is gone.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME been, OE béon (béo- (akin to OFris, OHG bim, G bin, OS bium, biom (I) am, OE, OHG, OS būan, ON būa reside, L fuī (I) have been, Gk phy- grow, become, OIr boí (he) was, Skt bhávati (he) becomes, is, Lith búti to be, OCS byti, Pers būd was)) + -n inf. suffix. See am, is, are1, was, were]



The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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be Audio Help (bē) Pronunciation Key
v. First and third person singular past indicative was (wŭz, wŏz; wəz when unstressed), second person singular and plural and first and third person plural past indicative were (wûr), past subjunctive were, past participle been (bĭn), present participle be·ing (bē'ĭng), first person singular present indicative am (ām), second person singular and plural and first and third person plural present indicative are (är), third person singular present indicative is (ĭz), present subjunctive be

v. intr.

1. To exist in actuality; have life or reality: I think, therefore I am.
2.
1. To occupy a specified position: The food is on the table.
2. To remain in a certain state or situation undisturbed, untouched, or unmolested: Let the children be.
3. To equal in identity: "To be a Christian was to be a Roman" (James Bryce).
4. To have a specified significance: A is excellent, C is passing. Let n be the unknown quantity.
5. To belong to a specified class or group: The human being is a primate.
6. To have or show a specified quality or characteristic: She is witty. All humans are mortal.
7. To seem to consist or be made of: The yard is all snow. He is all bluff and no bite.
3. To take place; occur: The test was yesterday.
4. To go or come: Have you ever been to Italy? Have you been home recently?
5. Used as a copula in such senses as:
1. To equal in identity: "To be a Christian was to be a Roman" (James Bryce).
2. To have a specified significance: A is excellent, C is passing. Let n be the unknown quantity.
3. To belong to a specified class or group: The human being is a primate.
4. To have or show a specified quality or characteristic: She is witty. All humans are mortal.
5. To seem to consist or be made of: The yard is all snow. He is all bluff and no bite.
6. To belong; befall: Peace be unto you. Woe is me.


v. aux.

1. Used with the past participle of a transitive verb to form the passive voice: The mayoral election is held annually.
2. Used with the present participle of a verb to express a continuing action: We are working to improve housing conditions.
3. Used with the infinitive of a verb to express intention, obligation, or future action: She was to call before she left. You are to make the necessary changes.
4. Archaic Used with the past participle of certain intransitive verbs to form the perfect tense: "Where be those roses gone which sweetened so our eyes?" (Philip Sidney).

Life in Christ was never meant to be the same old same old. Jesus came to give us New Life. Not a new life with the the same old habits. Living for Christ is one of those old habits we can hold onto–in spite of the pain and hurt it creates. God loves His church, but the church is no longer a building, it is His people. We are His temple. Unfortunately we can easily get caught up in “The Church” that we fall into some old habits there too. We become more concerned with running the church than being the church. It’s not intentional, or at least I choose to believe that for most of us it is not. Never the less, The old ways of “serving God” can creep into our “Church” life.
The unfortunate consequence of this it that the church takes the new life we have in Christ, the life that brings unbridled joy and loses it to the dogmatic ritual of performing for Him instead of living in Him.

Mark

As a young believer, I knew from what I read in the Bible and heard from others that I had a “New Life”, but nothing in my life felt very new. In fact, my life felt like nothing changed except now I felt worse about everything I did that wasn’t “right”or what I thought God expected of me. I felt like I was worse than before. What I didn’t realize is that even though I had a “New Life”, until I received the fullness of the cross, all that Jesus had done for me I wasn’t going to feel any different even though I truly was. You see, until I “Knew Life”, life being all of who and what Jesus accomplished through the cross for me, I would never enjoy the “New Life” He had given me. When I finally knew Life ( John 14:6 “Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.) I began to live in the life He created and not the one I was trying to create for Him!

We are who He has created us to be in Him. Life is not what we make it, it is what He has made it. When we can live our life in Him, we can finally live our new life in Him.

Mark