MOVE!

In my last blog post* I mentioned how much hiking was a part of our family camping adventures through the years.  One of the reasons that perpetuated that desire in the first place… is that I am a DOer!  When I am on vacation, I like to get out and DO things, to explore the countryside and to follow a trail up a mountain just to see what is visible from the top!

I’ve been that way since I was a kid.  My dad also liked to hike when our family went on our yearly camping adventure… but many times would frustrate me after the morning breakfast was finished and the dishes washed… when he wanted to sit in a camp chair and relax for a while and read the local newspaper** … before our morning hike!

For many years, our usual camping vacation with Piper and the kids began with me developing a migraine on the first afternoon after arriving at camp and getting set up, followed by Piper being a little bothered with me after breakfast the next day, because I was chomping at the bit to GO on a hike… when she wanted to relax a little bit and catch her breath before the day’s physical activities began!  I don’t remember a lot of that, but the kids laughingly tell me that it happened just about every time!

Likewise, I would get frustrated with Piper’s family when we would spend time with them on their vacation up at the Sea Ranch on the northern Sonoma County, California coast.  Again, I mentioned in my last blog, that we hardly ever slept in, but it was the norm with them.  And then when they did get up, it seemed (at least to my restless self) to take them forever to get ready for the planned family adventure to the local ice-cream store, the tennis courts or the swimming pool. 

So yes… I tend to be an individual who likes to get up, GO and DO things!  I’m also pretty sure that this tendency applies to my personal Christian walk.  Even when I study the Bible, I tend to read it from the viewpoint of how I can GO out and DO what the verses I’m looking at are encouraging me to DO, BE, SAY, THINK, or ACT.  Is that how you read your Bibles or the way you feel when the preacher is giving his or her message on Sunday mornings?

As I have been studying the LOVE chapter in I Corinthians 13 over the last few months, I’ve realized that Paul’s command isn’t just to HAVE love, but to DO love!  You see, Romans 5:5 already informs us that: “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (KJV)  So, why then would he dedicate an entire section of his letter to the Corinthian church to tell us of something that we already HAVE?  No, I think that his point is to tell us to get up and DO the actions of the fruit of the spirit of LOVE - that was given to us when we became born-again.

Likewise, in Matthew 28:18-19, in the scripture that has come to be known as “the Great Commission” Jesus tells us “All power (authority) is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.  GO ye therefore, and… (DO!)” (KJV) 

The word translated “GO” is defined in the original Greek as “to traverse, to live, to MOVE, to go to and fro, to experience, to GO or proceed in any way or course of life – to live in a certain manner.” (Strong’s, Thayer’s & Mounce)  To me… Jesus is simply telling us to GET UP and MOVE!  To DO and to BE the Gospel message! 

And since the word “gospel” literally means “The Good News”… He is encouraging us to DO it with a joyful heart and a happy disposition!  To let the smile of the gospel working in your life, that emanates from everything you DO and say, shine forth and splash onto anyone who comes across your path!

Now THAT, my friend, is what I would call DOing the gospel!   It’s called: Letting the Good News of the gospel message shine through the GOOD person you are and the GOOD life you live for Him…24/7!

Simple right?  Have a terrific new week, and as you DO… Keep EXPECTING God’s best in your life!

 

*http://pjberruto.blogspot.com/2022/06/icouldnt-help-but-to-smile-this-morning.html

**You know… that’s probably why I always liked to pick up a local newspaper wherever we went on vacation with Piper and the kids.  Hummm… I never realized that before!