God doesn't need you.

In my own journey of learning to follow God, I found that when I really believed that Jesus is fully capable of "reconciling the world to himself" by himself, without my help, it changed everything for me. I am free just to be a son of God, and I don't need to be anything more than that to be fully loved and accepted. I don't have to be a servant to belong in God's house. When the infamous prodigal returned to his father, he tried to come as a servant, but his father would only take him back as a son.

Acts 17:24 Paul speaking in Athens to the philosophy club said; “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else."

Learning this allowed me to rest. As an unintended consequence, I noticed that when I pray, read and worship out of a place of rest and joy, I don't want to stop and I want to share the experience with everyone I know. Now that I live on the other side of striving, following God becomes life-giving instead of a job to perform.

This doesn't mean that I am less likely to pray for people in the streets or evangelize, it means that when I do, it is more likely to be motivated by compassion and love than necessity and performance.