Be a Christian? Christian is something you do?

Which is the goal and which is the process; which the means, which the ends? 

Does one do lots of interactions (not for merit-making, but for training one's heart) in order to be more Christ-like? Or should the emphasis be on maintaining and thriving a heart of servanthood, righteousness attitude, and awareness of gratitude in order the actively engage with one's world in a more Christ-like way?

Perhaps the best clue comes from one of the names for God, "I AM." If the goal is to train one's heart to seek out God in places, people, and events big or small, then the actions along the way are facilitating this goal, but the action or lack of action by itself does not a Christian make. The path of older brother Jesus in an embodied experience; a chance to interact with the social and physical environment. That is to say, faith without action is incomplete; and yet, merely going through the motions, however charitable they may seem, does not particularly train one's heart. In other words, actions are necessary, but by themselves are not sufficient to produce and expand one's place in the world. Therefore strive for a heart that seeks after God and delights in the relationships formed with others travelimg this path, too.

The closing lines of my friend's lifetime poem show how important the lived, 3-dimensional, embodied experience is.

The purposeful meaning floods over me

To relate to our creator in time.

This is our task while we are living;

And its purpose can well be divine.

I must do it through personal relationships

For I conceive God in only this way.

As we live in true dialogue together

We become part of creation today.

W.P.R

St. Jovite, Quebec

[full text at http:// tinyurl.com/wpr1968]

Here I am, Lord

In this compact phase is much of what it means to be God's child; God's servant; God's heir; God's hands and feet.

By reaching upward and outward and declaring you are here and receptive, it means you are poised to listen for direction or connection, your eyes are open and seeking God's direction, and your heart is softened enough to accept gladly God's will.

..."Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven" points to the foundation of this new heaven and earth in which the Kingdom of God is built in one's heart. From that foundation all things are possible; all boundaries can be crossed, all obstacles can be overcome, or at least can be grappled with. And so, among the many messages, needs, wonderings, and seeking that makes up one's week and worship experience, or even comprises one's entire life course, the part about opening one's heart is perhaps the most important, with everything else the detail and furniture that can be moved around that space in one's heart. Thus the study of Greek, the peculiarities of translation between languages and historical periods, the exercise of servanthood and making offerings, etc all follow from the basic goal of changing one's heart from "zero sum game" or "homo economicus" (mere consumer units whose purpose is to "maximize utility") to the heart that Jesus exhibited for disciples and those who met him: a place where "giving to Caeser what is Caeser's" can co-exist with "God's Kingdom here on Earth." If we all could see past the texture, rhythm, flavor and habits of Order of Worship, denominational differences, and customs in one's own family ways, then perhaps in some small way hearts could shift from the worldview trained up in classrooms, online and found in movies or TV. Instead there could be a growing fraction of the wider society that sees connection, not separation between one and all; and sees service in kindness as the highest calling, not reaching a high net worth to pass on to others at death.

In the outbursting of "here I am, Lord" is the posture and the heart that is eager to seize God within one's daily routines and the lives one touches along the way. Stumbling over the meaning of trinity, the interplay of faith and works, the mercy and justice, as well as suffering and joy, instead we should dwell on the things that improve (and minimize the things that distract or harden) one's heart. It is, after all, and ultimately a Gospel of the heart; a kingdom within you and me.