| Get to or Got To? - article by Joel Hempel
Many years ago in Cincinnati, I had a pastor in chaplaincy training who came to class disheveled and looking like he had just gotten out of bed. His collar was upturned, his tie catawampus, and his hair uncombed. Needless to say, we talked about his appearance. What I discovered is that he did not intend to come to class this way and certainly did not want to be a stumbling block to people receiving the Gospel. He told me he would look in the mirror when he got up and intended to comb his hair and shave. But he would then get busy with chores or finishing homework and then have to hurry to make it to class on time. This chaplain-in-training was a real-life example of what James wrote about in chapter 1:22-25. Knowing what we should do and doing it are two very different things. More importantly, knowing what we should do compared to understanding what we get to do is even more significant. In the middle of Jonathan Chapa’s message, he stated, “we face the commands of God as things we get to do because of who he has made us as new creatures in Christ.” That little phrase, “we get to do," is insightful and far more noteworthy than one might initially think. What in you needs to change? What is pulling you away from wanting to be faithful to Jesus? Which command or law do you find yourself stumbling over in God's Word? Becoming the man or woman God has called us to be is not within our power. Living the Word of God and increasingly following the Way of Jesus is by God's grace and the help of the Holy Spirit. Parents raise their children and seek to instill in them values and beliefs that will guide their behavior when the parents aren’t around. I chew my food with my mouth closed and wash my hands before I eat because my mom taught me to do so. I now practice good manners, not because I'm afraid of parental judgment. Rather, I act like a grown-up (most of the time) because that is who I am – thanks in large part to the love and careful parenting of my mom and dad. The last thing God wants for us is to labor under the burden of his Law. He does not want us to obey his commands because we have to. Instead, he places within us his very presence along with his living Word so that we will live the Christian life because we “get to,” because we want to. Why? Because it’s who we are. We have been born again – made new – by the power of Christ’s love and faith in Jesus as our Savior and Lord. | 
