How would you define your witness to the world? If a stranger could define you in five words, what would they be? As Christians, we should be in a process of transformation of becoming more like Christ. You should be better than you were yesterday or at least learned something from it. We don't change that quickly, do we?
I want to give two examples of people I do not know but was a witness to their walk. Our reactions to bad situations can affect our witness to others.
The other day my dad and I were in Kohl's waiting for a worker to find the flashlights that were on sale. Another lady was waiting on customer service too and she was fit to be tied. Her anger was as obvious as the smoke coming out of her ears. As we checked out, I heard the worker apologize for the problems she encountered. The lady then said 'well I'm sorry for yelling.' Do our problems justify the means in which we get them solved? No, Jesus never threw a hissy fit.
Back during my cruising days, I was driving down Camp Robinson but looking backwards at some cute guys. I totally rear ended the car in front of me. It was totally my fault and I was ready for a blame-filled, tongue lashing. The man got out and I let him speak first...maybe, hopefully I said I'm sorry first. He looked at the cars and said, 'I don't see any damage.' Are you sure? We agreed no harm, no foul and I high-tailed it out of there for the night. Being in the right doesn't always justify retribution but forgiveness pays off a greater reward.
May your witness to the world be the same as the one you want it to be in your heart and mind.
Great examples... Cute guys can be a hazard! (At least, I think I remember those days...:) And forgiveness is a wonderful thing.. especially in fender benders...
ReplyDeleteGreat thought, Angie! I definately notice and appreciate when I see people act like Jesus...especially toward me! I took both lids to Lowe's last week while Elijah was in Mexico (keep inind that I'm very pregnant) and I was gonna try to buy some carpet and carpeting supplies (don't ask!). Well, the first 2 guys who got stuck helping me seemed to want to get out of the aituation as soon as possible. But the 3rd guy was soo kind to me. He went above and beyond to not just help me get supplies, but also explained how to accomplish my little project. I thought "I wonder if he is a Christian," then looked down and he had a bracelet on that said "Jesus saves."
ReplyDeleteI don't remember this little accident, did you tell me about it? In fact as I get older I remember less and less of your negative things and remember more and more of the good things. Thanks for the challenge, I will try to be better tomorrow. Dad
ReplyDeleteI remember hearing someone say a long time ago, "No matter what circumstance I am in, Lord, please help me to behave as the Christian I profess to be." Now, I must say, I have not always done that....far from it....and, unlike Jesus, I have thrown a hissy fit or two, but hopefully as you stated above I am still being transformed every day to be more like Christ. Our message at church yesterday was about letting our light shine...the example given was the moon and the different phases of it at different times. The question was "How bright do we want your light to be, compared to the phases of the moon?" I want to be a full moon...praying that I can make it to that stage! Love you, dear friend....T.
ReplyDeleteI have two quotes that I love about this subject. "The airplane of Christian witness has two wings:our lives(conduct)and our lips(conversation). Will Metzger Tell the Truth:The Whole Gospel to the Whole Person by Whole People." I personally don't know any whole people but I haven't read the whole book to figure out why it's call that.
ReplyDeleteThen, because we are sinful people and the Devil is so vicious in trying to destroy our witness: "You unsay with you lives what you say with your tongues." Probably one of those old dead guys,maybe Richard Baxter.
So true that our reactions to the situations around us speak volumes about what is in our hearts. I pray that the overflow of my heart would be love, joy and patience. Want to squash out the anger, pride, and selfishness.
ReplyDelete