Is Christ evident in your life?

Well for those of you who don't know me, I am a professing Christian. I know "gasp" right?! If you knew me back in the day that may be quite the literal gasp as I was anything but an adherent Christ Follower. But people and their lives change. Please don't be fooled into thinking that this was a moment when lightening flashed, thunder boomed, and the earth moved and I immediately transformed, because it was a far cry from it. Rather I saw that I needed saving and redemption and at that point a gradual change began to occur that has propelled me to where I am today.

I have served in varying ministry roles for years now, which sounds odd to say as I would still like to consider myself young, and one thing has stood out to me in each ministry or church I have served in. We Christians are a bunch of hypocritical, judgemental, malicious, backstabbing individuals. I had promised myself to not get too crazy and pointed in the first few posts, but recent events have opened up the proverbial Pandora's Box.

I would like to clarify as well that when I say "we Christians" I am including myself. I am just as bad as anyone else, because I am an imperfect, fallen, carnal, sinner. That is one item that separates some believers from others. We recognize that we are still messed up people in need of a Savior and a blood sacrifice. Too often we become prideful, arrogant, and pompous in our beliefs and way of life because we feel that we are now somehow infinitely better than those on the outside of the looking glass. But how quickly we forget where we have come from.

The Bible says that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Romans 3 is a great outline for how broken and far from God we are, and how it is only through the redemptive blood shed by a perfect sacrifice in His Son, that we are even allowed to kneel in His very presence. And yet as I have looked around at most of the churches I have been a part of or have visited, I have seen so much dissent, derision, in-fighting, corruption, and malice. I am stating that every church is this way, but I am attempting to call to account those who profess to be followers of the Only True and Risen God, who is perfect and unblemished, and yet live lives like they are no different than those who would spit in the Lord's face.

It pains me to see us as acting no different than those outside of the love of God, because what hope do we have to offer those who come to us? "Hey join the church and follow God so that you can experience more pain from your family in the church then you did outside of it?" Is that what we are called to offer? Or do we have something better to share? Shouldn't our lives mimic the life of Christ? (James 2:14-26, 1 John 1:5-2:14). We are called to something greater than an everyday, ordinary life. We are called to imitators of our Lord and Savior.

Why then are we fighting amongst one another, why must we gossip behind someones back, why are we refusing to greet our brothers and sisters, why must we give into our depravity and sinful nature? Yes we are all by nature of the fall, sinful and corrupt and vile creatures (who would have thought a piece of fruit would contribute to this diatribe?). But by the grace of God we are given a chance for redemption. Let me challenge us all to think about how we treat one another. Think about how Christ responded to those who didn't love Him (John 4:1-26, John 19-20). Christ didn't shy away from those who didn't understand or who needed instruction (and we all know the disciples needed a lot of it in the beginning), He didn't hide from those who weren't part of His group, and ultimately He laid down His life in the most horrific way possible to demonstrate His love for us. Can't we do that for one another? Can't we lay aside our petty differences and show the love of God to others within the church and to those outside of it? Imagine a world where hypocrisy within the church ended, where the truth was told with humility, where people genuinely cared for and loved one another, where people were selfless instead of selfish, where encouragement and love took over in place of pride and deceit! Now ask yourself if that is a world you would like to live in. Are you willing to put aside the flesh and instead showcase the life of Christ?

The question we need to ask ourselves then is this: Are our lives truly Christ-like, or are we living them in a way that we want Christ to be like?

I would like to promise that some of my future posts might be a little lighter, but it depends on the day. Maybe at some point I will post recipes or activities I have gone on or movie recommendations, but we shall see!  God bless all