December 14, 2007
Walking as Jesus Did
Posted in My Faith
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"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35 Too often, we Christians just don't show love - either to other Christians, or to people in the world. We act just like other people do - we spend too much time fighting each other and looking down on those in the world. As the church, universal, we would be flattering ourselves if we said people could truly tell a difference in our love for each other. "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." 1 Peter 2:11-12 It's often hard to tell Christians apart from the world. Divorce rates are just as high (if not higher) in the church as outside it, and Christians watch the same movies, listen to the same music, and wear the same clothes as everyone else. I'm not saying it's wrong to do anything even remotely secular - I'm just saying that although Jesus prayed that we be in the world, he also prayed that we not be of it (John 17:15-16). Our job on this earth is to represent Christ, and right now we're not doing a very good job of reflecting Christ or showing His love to others. A few months ago, one of my friends told me that the reason she has rejected Christianity is because she has seen so many pastors and Christian leaders that get involved with worldly things - that their walk wasn't lining up with their talk. I told her that just because some Christians had acted stupid and done a poor job of showing Christ to her, that didn't mean Christ was like them. I think she took that to heart, but I think it's sad that I had to defend Christ to her because of the terrible job that some Christians had done representing Him. Another girl I met told me that she doesn't go to church anymore because people at one church threw her family out because of her dad's tattoos. She said her dad hasn't darkened the door of a church since then, and she stopped going to church several years ago. I'm not saying I'm innocent of this kind of behavior. In fact, I can think of too many situations where the way I've lived could push someone farther away from God instead of drawing them closer. I am saying that I'm recommitting myself to live like Jesus - to shine for Him and show His love to others in the way I live my life. Walking the walk makes a much bigger impression on people than any amount of street preaching or tract distribution, and I think if people could truly see Jesus in us, then Heaven would be much fuller. 1 John 2:6: "Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did." |
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