No Compromise
"But you're meant to be a Christian...!"
To your friends and family, YOU are the fifth Gospel. Forget Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. You are what the people are reading.
So what’s the deal with the bad jokes and choice language? Are you really imitating Christ when you join in with all this stuff? OK… so maybe you’re just a bystander. Living your life on the periphery deliberately making a point of not disagreeing with the stand that your mates are making.
As a Christian you are called to be pure, but its just not that easy! You CAN choose who you hang around with. Even the Bible encourages us to not socialise with those who live their lives in a way that is openly not compatible with that of a Christian.
When you buy batteries for a remote, you never mix a new battery with a duff battery. The duff battery can only pull the new one down. In the same way, especially where you may have weakness, it really won’t be too long before you get pulled down as a Christian.
In school, college and work, we are often forced to put aside religious conviction and get on with the job in hand. This is 2010 and the people around us are often intolerant of Christ and subsequently of the Christian too.
If we know its wrong to fiddle a time sheet or wrongly sign a chart to say that work has been completed, who are we trying to fool?
As a Christian, it really is not about winning every debate in class or browbeating our peers into becoming believers. It is important to remember who we are serving. This will make the real difference, and it will be noted. Actions must precede the words. If we do all things as if we are doing them for Jesus, even the most tedious jobs will not seem as bad! Flipping burgers, tagging clothes…
The Christian is called to be light. There is a giant flame that never goes out, and we are the smaller tea lights in a darkened world. The tea lights are an important representation of the source, and it doesn’t matter what holder we are placed in, it is our responsibility to stay alight. Sounds a bit twee? Read on….
The Christian is not called to live in an ivory tower, but to live life to the full. There is far greater freedom living within the boundaries that God sets us, than there is living life as a slave to sin.
Oh yeah… we all mess stuff up and at times wish the ground could swallow us whole! Even if those around us may be slow to forgive, God isn’t. He’s waiting for us to humbly admit our shortcomings and ask for forgiveness and help in overcoming the problem.
Life as a practising Christian is not about living the Christian life as a graduate after several years of learning and gaining a certificate. You live the Christian life from day one as a Christian… and all Christians are still learning regardless of their physical age or length of service.