no room for Ish

I love words. Seriously. Each one is like a little sprinkle of magic to me and I get to decide whether it’s the lovely good kind or the icky bad kind. It’s a passion of mine, experiencing both old and new ways that these seemingly innocuous things get put into play. It’s why I’m such an avid reader and writer. There’s just something so beautiful in the stories that get told and the tales that are woven by using what seems to be an endless combination of letters to form the wondrous words.

           

*Photo found on Pinterest

Let me share with you one of my [many] quirks (I’m sure you’re just shivering with anticipation…) There are three letters that I frequently add on to my words - i,s, & h. Ish. I love doing this because it gives me a sense of freedom, rather than putting boundaries on me from what I said. I know that sounds weird, but if you think about it it actually makes sense…

For example, if I’m asked what time we’re leaving, I respond, “10:30-ish” and then if we don’t leave until 10:45 it’s no problem because I added that ish. Or if I’m asked when I’ll be coming over to someone’s house, I’ll say, “Soon-ish” so that I’m able to finish whatever I’m doing before needing to leave. I also use it in reference to something’s size when describing an object (‘cause let’s face it, I’m not so good at guessing the actual size..) - biggish, smallish, largish, widish, tallish… you get the idea.

I know in Matthew 5:37, the Bible says, “Let your yes mean yes, and your no mean no.” I’m not saying let’s go against that by any means. If I say I’ll be somewhere, I better be there. If I say I’ll do something, I best do it. If my answer is no, then I need to stick to that. The way I use ish doesn’t go against this verse, please understand that. If I tell someone yes or no, there is no ish involved, I mean yes or no.

With those three letters, though, so much can be conveyed. I use it lots of times in place of “sorta”. “Are you sleepy?” someone may ask & my response can be, “Ish.” Or if someone inquires about my health, “How are you feeling today? Any pain?” When I don’t have the time or desire to get into all that’s going on with me physically, my short answer is simply, “Ish.” I love this group of letters because I can say so much without saying hardly anything at all. It’s awesome!

While I was thinking about my odd love for ish while getting ready one morning, I started pondering the times when it’s not ok to use this favorite word of mine. For instance, if my husband teasingly asks me how much I love him, ish is not an appropriate response. Or if someone asks me if they look okay, ish would do more harm than good. If someone apologizes and asks for my forgiveness, ish better not be anywhere in my answer to them. Yes, I love the word, but there are times it needs to stay behind my lips. 

In the midst of contemplating all this, I had a profound thought that I know didn’t come from me, but rather from Him. This post wasn’t actually just to inform you all of my love for ish (although I did quite enjoy writing that part.) This post was written because of what He whispered to my heart. That message being this:

When it comes to my faith, there’s no place for ish. 

The Bible doesn’t say, “I am the Way-ish, the Truth-ish, and the Life-ish.” His word doesn’t say, “Fear not, for I am with you. Ish.” Mark 17:20 doesn’t go, “…if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there,’ and it will move-ish.” 

He doesn’t command us to love-ish our neighbors. He doesn’t tell us to pray-ish for those who persecute us. He doesn’t call us to act just-ish, to sorta love mercy, nor to walk humbly-ish with our God. He didn’t commission His people to go into all the world and preach-ish the gospel.

There is no believe-ish, trust-ish, obey-ish. There is no sorta to being a Christian, no place to be a follower-ish of Jesus.  

If I would add ish to how I walk with Christ, then I’m in danger of becoming a lukewarm follower. And God’s pretty clear on how He feels about that degree of temperature. There’s really no way to miss it in Revelations 3:15-16, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” I most certainly don’t want my Abba to say those words in reference to my walk with Him!

*Photo found on Pinterest

When I think about what being a lukewarm Christian may look like, I see this picture of a person straddling a line, a foot on either side. The line divides them because they’re not all in on either side. To me, this is a visual representation of one who talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk. They profess to know God, but their lifestyle doesn’t support their claim, just like the Bible says: “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him.” (Titus 1:16) In Isaiah 29:13 it’s said this way - “The Lord says: ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’” 

This brings to mind one of my favorite quotes. 

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians 

who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. 

That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” 

The first time I grasped the message within these words of Brennan Manning it was like a shot to my heart. I remember just praying as a young teen, “God, please keep me from being one of those Christians!” I don’t want to be a hypocrite. I don’t want to speak Love, but live a life of judgement and offenses. I don’t want to claim Grace, yet offer it to none. I don’t want to receive Forgiveness while withholding it from any I feel have wronged me. I want my lifestyle to honor God, for my heart to be close to Him. I never want to be the reason behind an unbeliever continuing in their unbelief. 

*Photo found on Pinterest

I do not want to be a line-straddler, I want to be a God-chaser. I want my feet to be so enmeshed in running after Him that there’s no way for them to be stuck in a struggle of deciding which side of the line to be on.

This post was written just as much to me as it was to you. I imagine it’s Him calling out for us to search our hearts and ponder our motives. We’ve been issued a call to action - to not be satisfied with just saying, “I love Jesus” but to be purposeful in showing our love for Him with our lives.

May we be a people whose lives draw others to Christ. May our actions back up our words. May the world be changed by our pursuit of Him. And may we always remember that when it comes to faith -  as consuming as His love is, and as powerful as His forgiveness is, and as great as His goodness is - Friends, as big as our God is, there’s simply no room left for ish.