Tuesday-Eager Beaver

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.”

1 Peter 3:13,14

Are you an eager beaver kind of person? You know what I mean. The kind of person who’s always working hard. They always want to finish first at everything. Get the highest score on any and every test. To get everything right in this life. To be the best at everything.

In case you didn’t guess it, I’m that kind of person. I always have and always will be eager. From my earliest memories I wanted to be the best at everything. While I wasn’t the fastest at sports or schoolwork, that didn’t stop me from working hard at the things I thought would bring me success.

And just like you, there were parts of life that I really didn’t care about. Yes, I was eager about the things I thought were important. But I was the one who decided if they were worth being eager about. It really didn’t matter what anyone else thought or said. This explains my consistent schooling experience where I never got a grade higher than a D in spelling or Spanish.

But when I wanted to become a better bowler, there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do to improve. I was in multiple bowling leagues so I could compete against the best. I also worked at a bowling alley, not for money, but for free games. I made a nuisance of myself by calling people us to get a ride to the bowling alley so I could practice.

Think about the things that you really care about. Not the things you say you care about, but the things you’re actually willing to work hard for. The things that you’re eager to go out of your way to make sure they are completed.

Another way to think about these eager things is that you have this burning inside to do them. You’re willing to give up anything and everything to make sure they are accomplished. You’re willing to go out of your way and spend whatever it takes. Everything else is moved to the side so you can make sure the eager things get done.

I know that this might sound silly to some of you, but this is exactly how I feel about doing anything for Mary Ann. Just the other day she needed a certain color thread for a sewing project. I jumped right up and said that I’d run out and get it.

Believe me when I tell you that I know absolutely nothing about sewing. I can spell the word, but I know less than nothing about how to do it. And on top of that I’m also color blind. But this wasn’t going to stop me. She told me the kind of thread she needed and gave me a piece of cloth to match the thread too.

And while Mary Ann said that she could wait, I was and always am eager to help her in any way that I can. This could be running to the store or baking her favorite kind of cookies. It could be moving something that’s heavy for her. Whenever she needs help with anything, I immediately stop whatever I’m doing and go to her.

But why am I willing to do this? What makes her needs the most important thing in my life? What’s powerful enough to stop anything I’m doing and willing to do anything she wants or asks. The answer is simple and powerful.

Love. Love is what lets us look beyond what we want to help someone else. Love isn’t a feeling, it’s that deep commitment to want nothing but the absolute best for another. Love puts their needs at the very top of our to do list. We see this in God’s love for us and our response in the daily activities of life.

while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Titus 2:13,14

Think about it this way. Before coming to earth, Jesus was alive for all eternity past. He was and is our great God and savior. He didn’t need to do anything to earn this title or position. He wasn’t a junior savior trainee who had to work his way up. He always has been and will forever be God and savior. The same yesterday, today, and forever[1].

And what did he do? He gave himself to buy us back from the eternal debt that we owed God for all our wickedness. But there’s more. He didn’t just redeem us, but he purified us. He made us totally clean; inside and out. These two things together make us his very own people. No longer chained to sin[2], but once-and-for-all made into God’s children[3].

Which brings up a very interesting question; how eager are we to do good? Are we looking for opportunities to stop whatever we think is important and do good for someone else? The scary part is that the other person doesn’t have to be our friend or worthy of the good we do for them. Just like we’re not worthy of God’s goodness to us, our eagerness to help can’t be tied to how good they are.

Noodling Questions

• On a scale of 1-to-10, how eager of a person are you? Explain.

• What kind of person are you eager to help? Why?

• Describe a person that you’re not eager to help. Why not?

[1] Hebrews 13:8

[2] Romans 6:20

[3] Galatians 3:26