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by Scott Johnson

Have you ever thought: I wonder why I do that? I wonder why I think that way? I hate that about myself. I wish I could change that.

Sure, we all have things we would like to change about ourselves—things that can be traced back to some root in our lives.

In Matthew 19, Jesus identified three root causes for what makes people like they are:

"Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."1

Did you catch those three root causes? 1) some things we are born with; 2) some things other people make us; and 3) some things we choose to become for the sake of the kingdom.

Sadly, most people live inside the containment of how they were born. They live a life molded by other people’s expectations—inside the controls, fears and manipulations of the people in their world. Often this makes them a copy, even though God made them an original.

In other words:

1)    Some people are like they are because they were born that way…
2)    Others are the way they are because other people made them that way…(They define themselves by phrases such as, “That’s just the way we are,” or, “Our family has always done that,” or, “We’ve been that way as long as I can remember.”)
3)    But then there are those who choose to become for the sake of the kingdom…

Jesus said: “It’s the traditions of men that make the power of God of none effect.”2

It’s what we do habitually and routinely that are traditions. One day, the Holy Spirit said to me that God has traditions too, but it’s not God’s traditions that make God’s power ineffective and nonexistent in our lives. It is those repetitive routines that are not in keeping with God’s that produce an absence of God’s presence in our marriages and families.

Ask yourself this question: Do you have any traditions that you’ve inserted into your life where God’s traditions belong? Throughout the years in my life, there have been those traditions of sports, golf, even holidays and family that have squeezed out God’s traditions from its rightful priority and position. Therefore, I had to deal with them purposefully. The results were that I was freed in my soul and my relationship with God soared.

One of the problems of routines—something our souls love and enjoy because our souls love living on auto-pilot—is the power they possess.  Our routines have so much power in our lives—be it for good or bad—that   they can quiet the voice of our spiritual intuitiveness and discernment. So our routines need to be broken.

•    I’ve learned that God’s tradition of the Sabbath is to break the routine of the flow of the world on my life weekly.

•    The purpose of tithing is to break the routine of getting in order to release God’s power of giving.

•    God’s tradition of fasting is to break the routine of giving the flesh its way all the time and introduce the power of discipline.

These are just a few of God’s traditions/routines He’s given us that produce power in our lives.

Jesus said:

1)    Some people are like they are because they were born that way…
2)    Others are the way they are because other people made them that way…
3)    But then there are those who choose to become for the sake of the kingdom…

In the Bible, to be a eunuch meant you never had an opportunity or desire to be married, or despite having a desire or opportunity, you chose to give up the right because it was not compatible with your destiny. So they forfeited the attachment of marriage because it would have inhibited them from fulfilling their maximum potential in the kingdom.

Here Jesus is using this illustration to reveal the type of person we must all become. So the question is: Who are you willing to become for the sake of the kingdom of God? Not are you willing to stay like you are, just as you were born…which requires no effort!  Not are you willing to stay as others have made you. That’s too easy!

But what are you willing to become—even if it’s outside the mold of what the first two people groups have defined for your life? What are you willing to do? Who and what are you willing to become for the sake of the kingdom?

This month ask yourself these questions and commit to becoming an original instead of a copy. Commit to the life-shaping power of the kingdom!

Releasing the power of possibility!