Matthew 25:46 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
When I ask people why they are not a member of a church or why they have not given their life to Christ I usually get a number of different answers but there is always one popular answer....Snobby Church Folk!!! When we accept Christ into our hearts and our lives we come to him with our issues and mess. A Christian walk is a growing relationship with Christ and is governed by the Word of God that is manifested in the Bible and through the Holy Spirit. As a Christian we are responsible for loving like Christ did when he walked the earth, reading our Bibles and allowing God's Words to absorb into our hearts, and DISCIPLESHIP. Our lives are not all about what God can bless us with, but because of God's grace and mercy we are blessed. We are not perfect, and nor will we ever be because as humans we are subject to error. With that said....
When was the last time your life and actions planted the seed of salvation and brought someone to Christ??
When have you given to someone until it hurt your pockets but through your Faith in God you were abundantly blessed as a result??
When have you visited the sick or imprisoned, fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, clothed the naked, smiled and said good day to a stranger??
Its my attempt to contain myself, but the very people who are responsible for being a reflection of Christ are some of the very people who are running away those people who need to know the love of God. Those people who God is pulling near to him. Those people that are crying out for help. I was a mess when I accepted Christ, and I am only one decision away from being a mess again. I don't want to get so "SAVED" that I cant testify to the glory of God in order to bring salvation into the heart of a sinner. There are people who need to hear that God loves the woman with two kids and has never been married. There are people who need to know that I lost everything before Christ but through him I gained those things back. There are people who need to know that when everyone else I thought loved me left he was still there.
But I come across these "holier then thou" Christians attitudes, Snobs for Christ. Last time I checked that wasn't written anywhere in his word?! A snob is defined as someone who believes that some people are inherently inferior to them for any one of a variety of reasons. The only thing that we are supposed to be inheriting is eternal life through Christ...not inferior people! Many of these Christians act as if God has never delivered them from anything, and that they were whole and complete when Christ found them not knowing that with a attitude of anything else other then love they are still not whole or complete. Whenever I get the opportunity to witness to someone I make sure I am sincere because it is my desire that people know the love of God that I know.
Our walk with God is not about prosperity, new cars, nice jobs, fame but rather it is about LOVE. Christ's life was an example of how we should live. Jesus did not judge any of the unbelievers they knew him to be a savior more so then the doubtful Pharisees and Sadducee's. Jesus fed, healed, and clothed the sinner and drew them to him through his actions and love. Are we drawing souls?? Our biggest witnessing tool is our life. Does our life reflect Christ or that of a hypocrite??
Our society has become run by selfish desires, money, and the desire to not be accountable to anyone but ourselves. Well that shouldn't be the same case when you are a Christian. Our lives should be devoted to telling people about the goodness of God, acts of love, and drawing souls to God as Christ does. We shouldn't run off a church visitor because she isn't Easter sharp. How do we expect God to pour into her if we are halting her salvation when she enters the door. We shouldn't turn our nose up to the gay man new to the congregation because he has never been exposed to the Word of God until then. We should love and welcome everyone into the household of faith because it took time to get us to the point we are in Christ. Christ makes clear in Matthew 25:46 that what you do not do for the least of them you do not do for him. If we do not treat everyone with love we are not treating God with love. We shouldn't expect a babe in Christ to know everything to do in a given circumstance, but we should expect God to perform a work on their life as he did in ours.
My desire is that we have a believers mindset and not a Pharisees mindset. The Pharisees were a driving force in the crucifixion of Christ because rather then walking in Love they questioned the miracles of Christ, demanded a sign of him being the Messiah, and used law to condemn Christ and the sinners. We should have a believers mindset that genuinely wants to gain disciples of Christ through salvation. We should give to those in need, and not let pride dictate our walk. A Pharisees mindset judges those trying to come to Christ, pridefully uses the Bible as a tool to personally judge the unbeliever, and are unappreciative of the unmerited grace of God.
Our testimony and our day to day walk are tools we can use to draw souls to Christ. Our testimonies show how God can take our messy lives and use them to glorify his kingdom. If we are walking around like we never been through anything with our noses turned up at others God wont be able to use us. Christ exemplified love and a desire to save everyone despite their social standing. Christ saved the beggar, the handicap, the prostitute, and if we walk as he did we can change hearts the same way. We can touch the stripper, the prostitute, the beggar, the atheist, the single mother and father, the players, etc.
So put your nose down and walk in love. Glorify Christ with your life, and add disciples to your belt of salvation.
Kiva Thompkins
No comments:
Post a Comment