Anyone can be nice, not everyone can be more than that.
I've grown up "nice"; I always (tried) to do everything right by my parents, church and society. Therein lies the problem: None of that matters. The only opinion that matters is God's, and He does not call us to be nice. In fact, He calls us to "be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16 b) To me, that doesn't say "nice".
I've spent the majority of my time, side-stepping anyone who might have a problem with what I believe. I'll even venture to say that I'm not in the minority for this. (I'm right aren't I??) But if I read the gospels and what Jesus called us to do, I am so far off base it's ridiculous!
Read Matthew 10:16-20
16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues.18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say,20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."
As Christians, we always focus on verse 20, that's the easy part. Read just before it though "At that time..." At what time??? When you're ARRESTED?? When you're FLOGGED in the synagogues?? We have not reached this point, or touched the tip of the persecution Christ talks about.
Hear me. I'm not saying that God will not help us speak to our friends, coworkers, family, and acquaintances; I am saying that if we read carefully, we see that those who Jesus is talking about in this passage had already stood up, in faith, for their Savior. We tend to think that if we just go about our daily business, people will come up and ask us why our lives are different and then God will magically put the words in our mouth and everything will flow out perfectly and they'll be saved.
I'm not saying this couldn't happen. But has it ever happened to you? Lets be honest here... that sounds really dumb. FO' REAL!
God will give us the words, but we have to be brave enough to speak them.
God will give us the boldness, but we have to love others enough to want to help them.
God will give us the love for others, but it comes with a price.
Look at Christ, He paid the price for loving us.
Sometimes I think that I would be willing to die for my faith in Christ; but often times it doesn't come down to that. Yea, if someone gave me a black and white decision to deny or accept Christ, on my life, I would say "Yes". I believe that. But it's not that simple! Every day, I deny Him as fear wells up within me to pray in public before a meal. Every day, I deny Him as my fear of being made fun of, or thought badly of, keeps me from professing my faith.
I'm sure most people around me know that I am a Christian; meaning, they know I go to church on a regular basis and am involved in Church-related activities. Do most people around me know that there is something better for their lives? Do most people around me know that there is a God who genuinely knows everything about their lives and has a plan for them? Do most people know that there is a way out of the pain? Do most people know that true love really exists and that it is there for them, shown by the sacrifice made on the cross?
... I don't think so....
Does anyone know?
The problem with all these questions is that I don't actually know the answer to them. I have been too afraid to ask about people's lives to find out the answers. In fact, I have been content, thus far, to assume that people's lives are perfect and that they think they need no help.
Excuse me, but that's the biggest bunch of malarky that I've ever come up with.
No longer will I be content. From here on out, I will not only strive for the fruit of "good" things coming out of my life. Real trees don't just create fruit, they also reproduce; if they don't there is something wrong. The last thing Christ said before He was taken into heaven is found in Acts 1:8
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
"You will be my witnesses..." He doesn't say, "you should be" or "you might be". He says you WILL be! That's pretty significant. So, as a disciple I WILL be a witness... what does that say of my life so far? Has my life truly been a witness? and what do I need to do to change that?
So here I go. No more fear. My life and place is so temporary anyway, what is there to be afraid of? Romans 8:31 says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" There's a reason we quote that at the end of Youth group every Wednesday.
Ok, enough rambling. It's time for my life to change. As a closing thought, you should read all of Matthew 10. Just do it. :)
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