How many times do we read our Bible and try to justify doing the opposite? It seems that we try to fit Christ into our lives rather than having our lives fit into Christ's standards. There is a big difference there. How many times do we tell God, "but...." when we are presented with a Biblical truth? I think we do it more than we realize. Sometimes I know God has to just shake His head in the way that we justify ourselves and wiggle out the parts of the Bible that aren't comfortable. It is to be expected, I suppose, because we are human and was born into a sinful nature and the world is so corrupt that sometimes the definition of right and wrong can be clouded and we are often deceived. Even Adam and Eve tried to justify and point fingers when they were guilty.
We see the world around us and we say, "well we aren't as bad as that guy over there" but in reality, we are all filthy rags and our litmus test is the Bible. If you are not representing the Bible, then we are not representing Christ. Period.
And I thought about all the instances that I have said, "but" over the years. Was I really representing Christ during those times? I can't help but think about the missionaries around the world that risk their lives on a daily basis and here we sit in the Bible belt where it should be "easy" to show people God's love, but we are often presented with fear. Fear of what? Sometimes physical fear and sometimes just social fear.
God has placed Jamie and me in a very unique county. It is a county that is very diverse and eclectic in culture, religion, and income. I go out shopping and I see people that don't look like me, speak my language, or worship my God. It reminds me a lot of when I was a student at MSU and there was many people that weren't like me. I even worked with a young lady from Hungary. I think about her sometimes and where she may have ended up. I remember her saying to me that she was afraid to die. I never told her about Jesus. I didn't know Jesus as my savior at that time, but I still wonder about her and if she is afraid to die. I hope not.
You don't have to go to a foreign land to be a missionary and representative of Christ. I want to represent Christ wherever I am and to whomever I'm around. I don't want to tell God "but," I want to do what the Bible tells me, because it is the truth. No amount of justifying is going to change God and what he expects of us.
Ghandi said it best when he said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians." I love my brothers/sisters in Christ, but I also love my brothers/sisters that are outside of Christ, because he died for them and loves them too.
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