To Be or Not To Be

 To Be Or Not To Be-God gave me this title bit nothing else. So what I
write about will be news to me as well.

The first thing I thought is that none of us really has the choice of
whether to be a Christian or not. God, for reasons known only to Himself,
calls and draws to Himself those He wants to be born-again Christians.

However, after our salvation we do have some choices whether To Be or Not To
Be. The first choice is whether to be a person that puts God first in
EVERYTHING or to be a person who doesn't put God first. A Not To Be who
merely fits God into the rest of their life. I do try to put God first as
much as possible. I don't do anything else on my computer until I have
finished my Bible reading. And I never miss choice if at all possible to be
there.

Secondly,people who really want to be for God make church attendance a
priority. I know that I do. I know that God may speak through the pastor
something that I need to hear and I don't want to miss it. Plus, at church,
I get prayer and encouragement from other Christians, something I badly need
right now. Contrast this with the Not To Be sort of Christian who sees
church as a hit or miss proposition. They come to church when it fits their
personal schedule but they don't adapt their schedules around church like
those who want to be for God do.

The Christians who want to be for God put what the Bible says ahead of
anything else. Ahead of what their feelings are telling them and also ahead
of what other people, including preachers, tell them. That is why To Be sort
of Christians make a point of knowing their Bibles well. On the other hand, there are some Christians who spend very little, if any, in the Bible. Consequently, because they don't really know what God says, they are more prone to believe anything that is told to them. Accurate or not. I can honestly say that I have spent enough time reading the Bible that I SHOULD know if something I hear lines up with the Bible or not.

To Be sort of Christians have God as the center of their life 24/7. Not just on Sunday. It doesn't mean that they don't do everyday things like work, being a mom, etc. It just means that they also make time for things like Bible reading, praying, etc. on a daily basis. But that is not all Christians. There are those that seem to park God at the church door. They take God with them to church but, once the service is over, park God again until the next Sunday. During the week, they don't give God much of a thought. I have often thought that my circumstances probably make it easier to remain God centered most of the time.

One other difference between To Be and Not To Be Christians is the focus that they have on Heaven. The To Bes understand that this life is just temporary. They know that we are headed for a better place after we die and live accordingly. My circumstances, especially the cancer, have given me an eternal perspective but I also understand that, for most Christians, it would be easy to slip into a Not To Be way of life. So caught up with earthly affairs that they forget about what is yet to come.

I better clarify. This is not about Heaven or hell. When we get born-again, we all destined for Heaven, no matter what we do or don't do. It is about living in a way that pleases God before we die and go to Heaven.