A friend of mine posted this as their Facebook status recently: "Looking for some feedback on this question due to some recent FB discussions: Can we tell if someone is a follower of Christ or not? If so, how? How do you incorporate judgement into your answer? Is it permissable?"
These questions made me think "Can anyone tell I am a Christ follower? Can I even tell I'm a Christ follower, if I remove myself from myself and look at my life??" This week has had some "yuck" in it. And I'm not proud of the way sometimes I don't handle the "yuck" the way I should. If my mouth is overflowing what is in my heart...then my heart is still far from where it should be because my mouth is often saying things that are just ridiculous.
At first I felt discouraged as I wrestled with these thoughts. I am working on Beth Moore's Bible study entitled "Jesus the One and Only". Yesterday she was making a point by showing several different areas of scripture where Jesus healed the sick. Her point was not only that He healed them...but that they had been sick for an amount of time...an amount of time that wasn't short. This came to mind as I was getting dressed this morning and I realized...these things about me that I despise: my attitude, my impatience, my pride, my laziness; these are all sicknesses...of my heart.
Jesus is healing them, every single minute, every single hour, every single day. I have had these sicknesses for 34 years, of course I'm not going to just give my will and my life to Christ and then BOOM instantly I'm healed (not that He can't do that...because He certainly can!!!!). As He gently chips away at my ugliness, I am growing, I am falling in love with Him. And I need to trust, be patient, and keep reaching for the hem of His garment.
Recently I had someone say to me "Why do people post certain things on Facebook or their blogs? Do they think it will give them brownie points with God??". Well I don't know about God brownie points (that's another discussion entirely!), but I have thought a lot about that statement. It has caused me to search my heart and question my own motives when I post something. My reason for posting this? Perhaps it will encourage someone, let someone know they aren't alone in these struggles, these things we wrestle with as we seek Him. (And if you want to give me BROWNIES...who am I to stop you???) :)
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing that! It is encouraging to read vulnerability and be inspired and freed by it! Brownie points or not, God demands that we share, teach, and GO to others with His good news! Thank you for the reminder!!!
This is such an important - and touchy - issue. We surely must share God's word, but in our zeal to do so we so often fail to appreciate - or even admit to ourselves - our own lack of perfect understanding. When we let this happen, instead of demonstrating humble service we can end up projecting a self-righteousness that ends up alienating the very people we're trying to reach. I think the key is to remember the difference between getting someone as interested in God's word as we are, and approaching others with the attitude that we've gotten beyond sin and now can instruct others as to how we got there. It's one of the reasons I love reading about your journey, Keri. You've never forgotten the humility part.
Happy Easter to you and your wonderful family!
Ben
http://kissthecook-ben.blogspot.com/
Ben, I love your comments. :) You're always so encouraging! Thank you!!
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