I Am a Verb (02/13/2024)

Last night as we gathered for bible study, we were reflecting on the text of Matthew 7:7: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” A member of the group after reflection spoke up and noted that Jesus’ words call us to be people of action: ask, seek, knock. At that point I shared that one of the first “AHA!” moments in my study of biblical Hebrew was learning the LORD’s name – “I AM” and realizing that the LORD is a verb. And I, made in the image and likeness of our all-loving and all-present LORD must also be a verb.

We are human beings. As such we are called to actively believe, belong, and become: to believe in our LORD, the very source of our being, and our LORD’s power and presence, manifestations of the LORD’s creative and transformative love; to belong to the LORD and to bring others to the LORD and to membership in the living Body of Christ; to become slowly by persistently the ones we are called to be as disciples of Christ, the ones we were created to be, the daughters and sons of the Father Almighty, and the earthly tabernacle of the Holy Spirit.

We are created to be beings of presence – to watch, to see, to hear, to care, to touch with loving kindness because we love the LORD with our whole being and we seek to love one another as the LORD loves us.

We spend time in meditation, in prayer, in contemplation. And while to the onlooker we don’t appear to be “doing,” we are doing that which we are called most surely to do – to come to our LORD and build our loving relationship with the LORD.

We are verbs. We live, we care, we love.

Years ago, I was blessed to have a woman in class with me tell me that “sitting in church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than sitting in a garage makes you a Cadillac.” Our faith and our lives is not about geography nor appearances. Our faith has never been a passive undertaking; it has always called us to be active.

As we go forward on our journeys of faith, buoyed by hope in the LORD’s promise, and fueled by love, let us recognize that the journey forces us to take steps, to move and be moved, to live and to love. Let us pray for the gift of the Spirit to guide us and grace us for that which we are called to do as we make our way to those whom we are created to be.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.

Thoughts? Questions? Requests? – katewiskus@gmail.com