I am what I am...

In 2009, Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In his Nobel Lecture he commented on

the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage.

He had won the Nobel Peace Prize without having actually done much for it. He was acknowledging that he was awarded this accolade with great generosity and it was a title he was going have to strive to live up to.

In many ways this is a bit like the life of Christian. I've currently 62% of the way through a book called The Pursuit of the Holy by Simon Ponsonby. The other night I was trying to sleep, but various thoughts went through my mind. Then an interesting question popped into my brain:

Are you actually a holy, pure person?

My brain was extremely quick to respond in this internal dialogue, and was somewhat vehement in its answer. And this it what it was:

Of course you are. In fact you don't have any choice in the matter. Jesus has made you a holy, pure person. He has given you that title. Now it's your job to live up to it.

Just as Obama was given the award, I've been given the prize as being a holy child of God. Nothing I or anything else can do can strip me of that title. Jesus has the final say, and he will not relent on this. I am a holy child of God. I am holy now; I will be holy tomorrow; I always will be holy. It's not up to me. I could do the most profoundly disgusting things, and I will be still holy.

When Obama won the prize, many people said that he was undeserving of it. This is true of me also. I had done nothing to deserve being called a holy child of God. I was far from being the epitome of virtue and selflessness; I'm still very far from being so. To be called as a holy child is not because of anything deserved; it is the ultimate "generous decision".

Last September, the former Nobel secretary stated that he regretted giving Obama the prize as he's not live up to it. Perhaps, in years to come, many people will say that I've not lived up to my given title as a holy child, but Jesus would never tell me he regretted his decision.

It's unlikely that I'll ever live up to the generous title given to me. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try. And the best thing is that Jesus will help me along the way!