Last time, we determined that it is God’s will for us to be holy (See 1 Thessalonians 4:33). Holiness is Christlikeness.

I aim to be like Jesus. To live the holy life means that I am constantly moving toward Jesus. The direction and trajectory of my life are right.

My goal is to be more like him today than I was yesterday, and I want to be more like him tomorrow than I was today. We keep moving and growing in the image and likeness of God’s son, Jesus.

Jesus talked more about who we are than what we do. He didn’t really have much to say about people’s careers. But even though Jesus didn’t say much about vocational choices, he did talk about character.

Jesus spoke about calling. In fact, about the only time Jesus brought up someone’s job was when he was inviting them to leave their job to follow him. That should let us know that following is more important than my doing. Who we are is more important that what we do.

And yet, the question that people so often ask is, “What does God want me to do?” Perhaps a better question is, “Who does God want me to become?” If we’ll start with the who, it will eventually lead to the right do anyway.

Allow me to give you an example of what this means on a personal level. I believe it is God’s will that I am a pastor. I believe this is what God called me to do.

But this is really his secondary will and purpose for my life. His primary will for me is the same as his primary will for you. He wants us to be holy. He wants us to be like Jesus.

Pastoring a church is what I do, but it is not who I am. I could be a pastor and be totally outside of God’s will, if my heart is not right with God, or if my character is crumbling.

If I were to nurture some secret sin but still try to preach and lead the church, I am not living in the center of God’s will. Who I am is foundational to what I do.

Think about how this applies to your life. God cares about what you do, but he cares first about who you are. Before you think about what to do in the future, begin with who you are in the present.

You may read Steve Greene’s blog at pastorgreene.wordpress.com or you can email him at [email protected].