I had a mission before me this morning, so I prepared.  I ate a meal, used the bathroom, twice and put on comfortable clothing, and shoes.  I gathered my necessary paperwork, ran down my checklist.  I was ready.  Yes, I was going to the DMV.

I arrived early, and the line inside the door wasn’t too bad.  I was hopeful to be done before needing another bathroom trip.  You don’t want to be in there when they call your number! 

(Hmmm, that sounds like a future blog.  I’ll have to write that down.)

Okay, I’m done putting that idea in my notebook.  I made it pass Charlie Checkpoint Number 1.  I had the proper paperwork with me.  Next, I had to fill out a small form I was given at Charlie Checkpoint Number 2 and then pay attention for my number to be called.

“Number 462,” cried out the attendant, who then directed me as to which window to proceed to.  I greeted the woman, whose grey hair was pulled back into a pony tail, with a warm smile.  I have learned, the hard way mind you, these people own you for the next few minutes of your life and you want to be on their good side.  I also thanked her for serving us, and was thinking, “Flowers.  I should have brought flowers!”

As she proceeded through her own checklist she begin asking me questions.  “What color do you want your hair?”  “What color eyes do you want?”  “How much do you ‘want’ to weigh?”  And my favorite, “How tall do you want to be?”

It was in that moment I felt as though she was asking me, “Who do you want to be?”

As I left I was still thinking about that question.  The obvious answers came to mind, “A Christian”, “A Disciple of Jesus Christ”, but those seemed cliché.  After getting home I saw a friend had shared a short message by Rev. Craig Groeschel.  Craig explained that the first people to follow Jesus were called, “the Way”.

“All this time Saul was breathing down the necks of the Master’s disciples, out for the kill. He went to the Chief Priest and got arrest warrants to take to the meeting places in Damascus so that if he found anyone there belonging to the Way, whether men or women, he could arrest them and bring them to Jerusalem.” Acts 9:2 (MSG)

In other words, these individuals didn’t just accept the truths of Jesus, but also accepted and adopted into their own lives the “way” Jesus lived.  I agree with this kind of life, and this is who I want to be.  One who lives the same “way” Jesus did.  The only external identifiers that matter are, what comes out of my mouth, and how I react to others, for who they are, and how they have chosen to live.

I want to be like Jesus, who not only was the way, but showed the way to his Father, and lived in a particular way that was pleasing to his Father, God. Who do you want to be?

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