It doesn’t sound good does it? I mean, is that the
image we want to portray to the world that Christians fight? Well I have news
for you, they already know. The way Christians manage dispute, and the way we
deal with the resulting consequences of the dispute, are what the world sees. Sometimes on television, sometimes in their
local churches.
image we want to portray to the world that Christians fight? Well I have news
for you, they already know. The way Christians manage dispute, and the way we
deal with the resulting consequences of the dispute, are what the world sees. Sometimes on television, sometimes in their
local churches.
Many non-Christians believe that Christians should not
fight, that we should not make mistakes, that we should not drop the ball. I have news for you, we are human beings. We
will mess up, we will drop the ball, and we will make mistakes. Part of our transformation is however, that we
are willing to correct, to change. When
we become Christians, we are supposed to grow in our knowledge of Christ. That means we cannot keep the same bad
attitudes and dirty habits. We will not
necessarily change overnight, but we should not be anywhere near the same a
year or 30 years after we become Christians!
Unfortunately, some Christians do not change. So you will see the same bad attitude and not
much change, year after year after year!
fight, that we should not make mistakes, that we should not drop the ball. I have news for you, we are human beings. We
will mess up, we will drop the ball, and we will make mistakes. Part of our transformation is however, that we
are willing to correct, to change. When
we become Christians, we are supposed to grow in our knowledge of Christ. That means we cannot keep the same bad
attitudes and dirty habits. We will not
necessarily change overnight, but we should not be anywhere near the same a
year or 30 years after we become Christians!
Unfortunately, some Christians do not change. So you will see the same bad attitude and not
much change, year after year after year!
I think this is the struggle most non-Christians have. They see many Christians acting and talking like
non-Christians and they get confused.
Most non-Christians will tell you that although they are not Christians
themselves, they know how a Christian should act. It sounds superficial, but that is the
thought process of many non-Christians. The
fact is, most people at least in America, identify with the Christian faith. But
identifying with a faith and living the life are two completely different things.
non-Christians and they get confused.
Most non-Christians will tell you that although they are not Christians
themselves, they know how a Christian should act. It sounds superficial, but that is the
thought process of many non-Christians. The
fact is, most people at least in America, identify with the Christian faith. But
identifying with a faith and living the life are two completely different things.
For those Christians who more than identify, who truly
believe, we still run the risk of messing up from time to time. Sorry! There is a further difference though. And here’s the clincher, the true Christian’s
mess ups should be fewer as the years go by.
After all, like any relationship we are truly interested in cultivating,
we want to learn the other person’s personality. In fact we take on aspects of their
personality. We want to please that
person, and we want to stay in relationship with that person. We learn what makes them tick, what makes
them upset, and what makes them happy.
Our relationship with Christ is pretty similar, except that we get more
out of the relationship than he does. In
my opinion. He loves us unconditionally,
he wants us to spread the good news about how wonderful a relationship with him
would be. But he also wants us to
reflect his attitude toward life, toward others, the more we become like him.
He wants us to be more forgiving. He wants us to be
about his business instead of gossiping, backstabbing, and jostling for
position. God wants us to recognize our
weaknesses and work on them daily, realizing we will never be perfect. He wants
us to be more like him every day, every year, whether it is a year or 30 years
from now!
about his business instead of gossiping, backstabbing, and jostling for
position. God wants us to recognize our
weaknesses and work on them daily, realizing we will never be perfect. He wants
us to be more like him every day, every year, whether it is a year or 30 years
from now!
When we have disagreements especially with other
Christians, God wants us to resolve those issues with him in mind. He wants us to act like brothers and sisters,
not mortal enemies. He does not want us
to go for the jugular, pounding each other into the ground, trying to destroy
each other. Those are all worldly and definitely
ungodly actions. We should not forget who or whose we are when
we disagree with each other. If we
cannot resolve differences amongst each other like proper Christians, we are
showing a bad example to the world. And
we are proving that we have not grown and probably have no intention of doing
so. We are just identifying with
Christianity, but not living the life.
Christians, God wants us to resolve those issues with him in mind. He wants us to act like brothers and sisters,
not mortal enemies. He does not want us
to go for the jugular, pounding each other into the ground, trying to destroy
each other. Those are all worldly and definitely
ungodly actions. We should not forget who or whose we are when
we disagree with each other. If we
cannot resolve differences amongst each other like proper Christians, we are
showing a bad example to the world. And
we are proving that we have not grown and probably have no intention of doing
so. We are just identifying with
Christianity, but not living the life.
God will have the
last word in every aspect of our relationship with him, and with each other. He will give us increase and he will admonish
us, because he loves us. The question
is, will you just identify with Christianity, or will you be about the life?
