Be an Example

A few years ago my younger sister used my cell-phone and made a phone call pretending to be me. At the time she was not a fan of talking on the phone, so instead of being her usual friendly self, she was awkward, slightly rude, and frantic to end the phone call. When I realized that she had done the whole thing in my name, I was completely frustrated because that person she was talking to, whoever it was,  probably thought badly of me and it wasn't even my fault.

Today for some reason I was recalling this memory and realized that this must be a bit how God feels when we as Christians act selfishly. For instance, God would get bummed if I put on my lovely cross necklace in the morning, a symbol of my faith in Christ, and then I headed over to Starbucks, ignored the homeless people out front and acted unfriendly to the barista. How frustrating for God, here He is loving people like crazy, and I walk in representing Him and treat my latte like its more important that the people around me. What a poor picture of Christ that would paint for the people who were present.

As Christians, people should be able to look upon our lives and see Jesus, that is the point, we are the "body of Christ". It is a heartbreaking thing when we as believers act selfishly, perhaps judging others, or gossiping, whatever it might be, and we turn people away from Jesus because they don't want to associate with a God that acts like that. It's amazing that though we live in a country with churches everywhere, many many people have never seen a good example of Christ being lived out in front of them. There is so much power in a truly faithful life, God uses it to draw people to Himself. God longs for people to know Him and one of the main ways He is going to get their attention is by using the Christians.

So it is our job as believers is to be Godly examples to others, and in humility show them what life with Christ is really about. God's love is to be shown in our life, our love, our faith, our speech, and our purity. Jesus should be evident in our clothing and in our conversations, in our music and in our hobbies, in our marriages and our workplaces; and without even saying His name it should be obvious that we are His. The way a wedding ring marks a spouse, our behavior marks our lives. This doesn't mean we won't have off days. I am often weak and struggle with all kinds of things. But God is glorified when we are quick to recognize when we have blown it, and humbly seek to make things right.

Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

How have you seen Christ lived out today in someone you know? Feel free to share your stories here and encourage others with some amazing Godly ideas of how to share Christ's love in our daily lives.