I Get To
Written by Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ”
As followers, Jesus Christ called us to take our ordinary lives and experience the extraordinary. Whenever I take that idea seriously, I get bogged down in disappointment. My life feels ordinary much of the time. God has blessed me in so many ways; with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I should be able to produce the extraordinary.
There are a couple of issues with this logic. First, I cannot make myself extraordinary. All I can do is live my life, work hard, and take advantage of opportunities. Only God can take one’s life and make it extraordinary. While this is true, we can set ourselves up, being available when God calls. YouTube and Skillshare star, and medical doctor, Ali Abdaal, who teaches productivity to the masses, make a meaningful recommendation. Abdaal recommends watching our language. Instead of saying, “I have to do this,” instead say, “I get to do this.” It sounds simple enough to be trite, but just try it.
“I get to do this” is not an obligation but a blessing. This subtle shift in emphasis changes the entire way we look at our lives. “I have to do this” makes one’s life feel like it is out of our control. We are simply puppets or machines doing the bidding of others. “I get to do this” returns a childlike joy to daily activities. As a kid, I almost always met activities as an adventure. We were wondering what excitement lay ahead. Jesus calls us to return to a childlike faith. I believe Jesus guided us in this direction to take back our lives, so we can then hand them over to the Holy Spirit, and what the Holy Spirit offers, we could be excited about doing.
Today, make a one-week commitment to intentionally say, “I get to” rather than “I have to,” and then focus on how the change in language makes you feel. The more dynamic you become with the life God has given you, the more open you will become to God’s leading. Getting to do something brings excitement, and excitement is infectious. Being guided by the Creator of the Universe should get us more than a little excited!
