The Unexpected Adventure- "Representing Jesus"-Matthew 5:13-15
Today's reading was a good 'un. It did not revolve around a subzero North Dakota camping trip or a flight into the jungles of Borneo. It was about a seeker who had been disenfranchised from the church by spiritual hypocrites and found her way back thanks to a group of genuine, Spirit-filled believers. More the type of stuff we will encounter in our lives.
Several thoughts popped into my head during today's reading. I will just share a couple.
One- Strobel was angry when he learned that Maggie's resistance to all things God was a result of people in her life who professed Christianity, but were mean and abusive in word and deed. This was her excuse for living apart from God. I am not discounting her rationale, but what I found interesting was that most people don't accept a bad upbringing as an excuse for committing crimes. "They still had a choice," we say. "No one made them commit the heinous deed." However, we readily accept the "bad-Christian hypocrisy" as an acceptable excuse for people's denial of Christ. No real point here. Just a musing.
Two- After Maggie tells Lee that she has accepted Christ, he wants to know what verses, facts, ideas changed her heart and mind. Her answer is painfully simple and a caution to us all, "Well, I just met a whole bunch of people who were like Jesus to me." Wowee! Zinger! Shot to the heart! Is my life like Jesus to those who I come in contact with each day?
In order for my life to be like Jesus I must:
1. Spend time in the Bible so I really know what Jesus is like. Not just the miracles, but the day-to-day life of Christ.
2. Spend time in earnest prayer asking God to reveal to me unJesus attitudes, thoughts and actions, and then ask for the wisdom and strength to change the unJesusness in me.
3. Allow love to make other's needs and hurts a priority in my life.
Heavenly Father, please reveal my areas of unJesusness and help my thoughts, speech and actions be a reflection of Your love.
Another thought on being Jesuslike in the eyes of others. I have to be sure my efforts at being that way are accurate, even if some lost person may not recognize the state. (In other words, I cannot let a non-Biblical picture of Jesus, either by Christians or lost people, determine what I think is Jesuslike.) Some people believe that taking a stand against sin is not something Jesus did...He was "too loving" to condemn sin. (See story about woman who was facing stoning due to adultery.)
ReplyDeleteAnother idea...Do you or the Holy Spirit bring about the necessary changes?