listen, we as CHRISTians bear HIS name. and GOD sends us out into the world saying,
“go out as i would live. go out and show
some people. put a face on the name of
GOD.”
i encourage you this next week to remember that at
the office. or at the gym. or at the coffee shop. all those places. remember that when the checker in the
checkout line takes ten minutes longer than you think it should have taken. or remember that when you miss your
connecting flight somewhere in the middle of the country and you’re stuck
there. remember that when you’re on
business trip alone in a hotel room with your thoughts and a cable tv
channel. remember you represent GOD’s
name. there’s no greater privilege than
to represent HIS name.
some people, some who are not yet believers, would
say, “what you’re talking about right now, that’s why i’m not a CHRISTian. i’ve met some CHRISTians who are supposed to
represent GOD’s name and the way i see it they’re not doing a very good job of
it. i don’t want to be one of those kinds
of people so i’m going to wait until maybe i’m more perfect, [which is never
going to happen] to start to represent GOD’s name in life.”
let me share some things with you.
first of all when it comes to living out the
CHRISTian life you’ll find some people who just blend in with the world. they’re just like everyone else around
them. there’s no difference. obviously you’re not representing GOD’s name
if you do that.
there are others, who escape from the world. they get as far away from everything in the
world as they can. the monks are the
best illustration of that. they go way
up into the hills and if there is any difference in their life nobody knows it
because nobody can see them.
but there’s another kind of CHRISTian, another way
to live the CHRISTian life. they take GOD’s name into the real world. they take the challenge to live out the
importance of GOD’s name in the real world.
yes, they struggle sometimes because they’re not perfect any more than
anybody can be perfect. but they’re struggling
to grow.
that’s the kind of life that GOD invites you
to. if you’re not yet a believer those
people that you’ve met that are like that, that’s what HE’s inviting you
to. that’s what HE’s calling you
to.
just a thought from the front porch…
2 comments:
When I became a Christian I was lucky enough to have like minded people around me. As my children grew we became surrounded by multiple populations of different peoples with different religions, thoughts, beliefs, negativity and hope. I started inviting people over for dinner. It began simply by saying blessing before our meal and having a "normal" conversation. More people were invited. Our conversations opened up to all kinds of subjects, including religious beliefs. We now regularly host about 30 people, mostly teenagers, every Friday night at our home. We are Christian, Muslim, Ahtiest, non-committal, gay, promiscuous, holier than thou but we all have one thing in common. We have agreed to be in each other's lives without judgment or criticism. About 150 lives have been impacted my these simple dinners and many have converted to Christianity. The best compliment I ever received was, "You are the funnest, honest Christian to be around". I frown upon adults who don't shared their broken pasts with youngsters. If we seem perfect in their eyes they can't understand how they can be imperfect and still loved by Jesus. We must live as Christ would like us to, but we will stumble and stand right back up because because that momentary slip, it was the blood of Jesus we stepped on without respect. When we realize that we stand right back up again and face Jesus with our apologies and comittment to try to get it right again. I'm very glad I found your blog. You might like mine http://marissafrog.blogspot.com/
Have a blessed week. Marissa
thank you so much. marissa for your sharing with me and with others and for using your creativity and compassion to reach out to others.
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