His Will

The driving force of our lives should be to know God and then to do His will.  This is done as we
surrender our lives to Jesus Christ. Hebrews 13 says:
20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, and we know these familiar words from The Lord's Prayer: "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done..."  As citizens of the Kingdom, it should be our ambition to live in that manner.  As we set our priorities, we recognize that our top priority is to walk with God.  If that relationship is right, then our other relationships, our tasks, our other activities, all flow from that. It's important to recognize that we don't make our plans and ask God to bless them; rather, we allow Him to set the course of our lives.

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Jesus attempted to alter how two of His disciples defined "greatness" in Mark chapter 10:
43b ... whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.
44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

I want to share a quote from one of today's A-list Hollywood actors who actually has a current film in theaters and is generating some Oscar buzz.  This is taken from a transcript published by Relevant Magazine from a talk show interview - it was posted by musician Jermaine Dupri and the clip has gone viral.  Here we go...

You’ll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. Whatever you have in life, you can’t take it with you … It doesn’t matter what you have, what matters is what you do with what you have ... with what God has given you …

Who have you lifted up? Who have you made better? Today. That’s what I’m about …

I’m in the service business. I’m here to serve God. I’m here to serve my family.

Those words were spoken by none other than Denzel Washington, who has reprised his role from Broadway in the film, Fences.   According to The Christian Post, "Fences is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, and is the story of a father struggling with race relations and his life circumstances in the 1950s."  That article recalls some words Denzel said during a press conference call in association with the film:

"There was one woman in particular. Even before we started shooting I met her and I came and said, 'Oh thank you for coming out.' She said, 'We've been watching you for a long time.' I said 'Well, pray for me.' [And then] she said, 'Denzel, I've been praying for you for 35 years, my family and I," he said. "We've been watching, we know how hard it is."

Washington said he recalled his mother saying those same words to him.

"You just never know who's praying for you," he said. "I needed all of those prayers and I needed all of that support. We all needed it. The people were just wonderful!"

As a way to say thank you, Washington hosted a screening in Pittsburgh for everyone in the neighborhood who made them feel welcomed.

And, ChristianHeadlines.com recounted some statements from actor and singer Tyrese Gibson on the occasion of his 38th birthday, as published by Christian Today.  Among his words, we find: "I just finished praying on the beach, looking up at the stars,” adding, "I just had one of the best open and honest talks with God about where I am, what He has brought me through, and how I have never ever, ever lost faith in HIM throughout some of my darkest hours."  He is also quoted as saying,  "When you fall in love with Jesus and you're completely submerged in Christ, your heart and soul is fulfilled independent of what's in your bank account and where you are on the charts."

On Fridays, I like to focus on famous people calling attention to God.  And, these are some inspiring moments that can cause us to think about our own lives and our walk with God.  Our Christian life transcends all else - what we do, what we possess, who we spend time with - all of those are subservient to our relationship with the God of the Universe.  Denzel Washington, according to Faithwire, said this about making movies:

“People talk about the difficulty of making a movie and I’m like, send your son to Iraq, that’s difficult.”

“Making a movie is a luxury… It’s an opportunity. And most importantly it’s a gift… Don’t get it twisted, it’s just a movie. It ain’t that big a deal.”

He spoke those words at a Hollywood Reporter roundtable.

So, let's take away the concept of setting proper, faith-infused priorities.   Washington and Gibson can help us to think about what's truly important - interacting with God, allowing Him to guide our lives, keeping life in perspective, the importance of prayer, and of serving God and serving others - that's a summary of what these gentlemen can bring us.

As Denzel points out, we are called to be servants.  He uses the phrase, "service business."  No, not to be a Hollywood star; that doesn't seem to the be point for him - he has a spiritual awareness that can be challenging for us.   When we surrender our will to the will of our Heavenly Father, He shapes our perspective, He creates within us a sense of humility, and shows us the way in which we should walk.