Getting Started

Everyone knows the hardest part of getting anything done is getting started. Yes, we know we need to clean out the garage, but just one look at the junk stacked to the ceiling in every corner is enough to send us back inside overwhelmed in defeat. We know if we could just move one box that things would get done from there, but we can never find the energy – or courage – to move the first box. 

It’s that way in every area of our lives. We know we need to eat better and exercise and we’re all committed to getting started…tomorrow. Every one of us has a relationship that needs attention. All it would take is one phone call to get things headed in the right direction. Yet, sometimes the phone is just too heavy to pick up. Things don’t get done in our lives because we never get started. We know something needs to be done. We may even know exactly what we should do. We just never make the first move. We never get started. 

We can’t get started in our faith either. People always want to know the will of God for their lives. You already know three things God wants you to do, I tell them. It could be that you need to check on a sick neighbor or get back into your prayer time. Do what you know you need to do, I tell them and then, God will tell you the next thing to do. Why should God tell you a fourth thing to do when you haven’t done the first three?

One of the biggest problems we have in getting started in our Christian walk is most of us start from the wrong place. Think about it. When someone encounters Christ, they are overcome with grace and mercy. When they realize Christ has forgiven them and made atonement for their sins, the person becomes overwhelmed with a sense of debt and obligation. Because Jesus has done all of this for me, they think, I now have to do all of this for Him.  Their lives become consumed with trying to pay back Jesus for His gift of salvation. 

Guilt can’t motivate us for long. It’s too heavy and sooner or later, we’ll give up trying to carry it. Christ invites to live in love. You and I know Christians who come to church like they are making a payment on a note. Go to church, they think, and it “counts” against the debt I owe Jesus. Some of the most miserable people I know are those who live their lives trying to pay back Jesus. 

For one thing, Jesus can’t be paid back and what’s more, He doesn’t want to be paid back. His salvation and love are gifts! Freely given to His children to be freely received. Have you ever seen a child receive a gift? They rip the package open and start playing with the new toy. There’s no discussion of how much the gift was or what the child had to do to earn it. The gift is free. 

I was very blessed because my parents paid for my college education. One afternoon my father and I were talking and mentioned that one day I would pay him back. My father was insulted by my suggestion. My college education was his gift to me and he had never thought of being paid back. Instead, I was to use all of my advantages to take care of my sons. 

God’s good gifts to us are never given with the understanding they will be repaid. Instead, we are to use our advantages to care for the rest of God’s children. 

We begin from the place of being loved. We are loved. Right where we are without doing one thing to deserve it. What’s more, we can never do anything to cancel His love for us. We are loved. This is where we start. 

Being loved by Christ means being filled by Him. The problem is we can’t hold the ocean in a thimble.  The love of Christ, more infinite than universe itself, pours into us and fills the cracks and broken places in our lives and eventually, begins to run over from our lives. 

This is where our living comes from – the overflow of Christ in our lives. We love our neighbors because we have to. We’re drowning in the love of Christ and we have to give it away or go under. We serve our friends because we have plenty to give. Christ has filled our lives to the point of bursting with joy. This is where we start. This is where we live. We’re like the merchant who found the pearl of great price. We’re rich beyond all telling. All we can do is laugh. This where living out our faith starts – in laughter and joy, in love and wholeness. 

Getting started is always hard. It’s easier when we start at the right place. Because of Christ, we can start with love. 

This essay was first posted in Scot McKnight’s newsletter.