Day 2454 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.
1 John 3:18 NIV
I understand that many look at our Christian faith and only see rules. They see the people who act like they're better than those around them. They see petty judgement and unnecessary arrogance. They see vanity and pride. They see haughtiness and exclusion. But if they could only see the true nature of what a Christian is supposed to be. If they could only see past this worldly version that many have chosen and curated.
They could see a heart for those who are lost and hurting. They could see a people living in humble servanthood to a God of love. They could see the openness and warmth of forgiveness and grace. They could see an opportunity to be a part of something that is vastly different from the world around us. But maybe most importantly they could see an opportunity. They could see the opportunity to leave the past behind and break free from the darkness of shame and regret.
That honestly should be one of biggest missions of those who claim the title Christian. To help others realize the life-changing and eternity-saving gift of Christ’s salvation. To help people realize that we all have a chance to be something new, something different, something better. To share a message that encourages people to wake up and realize the very real danger of sin and to acknowledge the damage that it has done in all of our lives.
We tend to throw around these words that sound great just hoping that they’ll stick and take root in those who happen to hear them. We assume that saying the right things will catch someone just right and encourage them to move, to act. We lean on words like freedom, forgiveness, mercy, salvation, and rebirth thinking that they’re big enough and powerful enough to inspire action in those that listen. But if we don’t explain the reason for those words then they’re just words.
People need to understand that our faith is more than just a bunch of noise. It’s more than a lot of great sounding words that sound sweet to the ears. Our faith is a living, moving thing that continues to open doors and present new opportunities every single day that we’re given on this earth. It’s a journey that starts when we meet Christ and continues on into eternity in this ever-growing fashion that provides unlimited room to improve.
But it all gets lost when we lean on words that we don’t really give any substance to. People stay on the outside thinking that it’s all a bunch of nice sounding talk from a bunch of people who don’t practice what they preach. It’s time to change that. It’s time to give our words and our messages the substance that can actually inspire people to move and change and grow in and toward Christ. It’s time that we share more than buzz words hoping for attention and start sharing the messages that invoke progress
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We can’t keep trying to turn people to Christ with nothing but well-rehearsed sermons and fancy words that don’t match our actions. That just won’t do. People need to see that following Christ brings the freedom, the hope, the joy, the peace, the love, the fulfillment that we talk about all the time. They need to see it in us because our actions speak far more loudly and reach far more people than our words ever will. We can’t stop at saying the name Jesus and tossing out a Bible verse. We have to show them. We’re here to be His representatives on a mission to help save people. That needs more than words!
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