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Would anyone care if we didn’t act like Christians?
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Sometimes it isn’t easy to live like a Christian. Often we think it would be easier to be like everyone else. Eat. Drink. Have a good time. Yell and curse. Threaten to get even. Laugh at every crude joke. Take everything you can get your hands on, no matter who it belongs to or who you hurt in the process. Would anyone actually care if you weren’t honest, loving, faithful, and self-controlled? Who would notice?
Jesus wants us to be his disciples. He claimed us by his own blood from lives of immorality, hatred, rage, jealousy, and death. He put us in this world and made us his children. Jesus says he wants all of us to be the salt of the earth so we can demonstrate kindness, patience, and gentleness.
We do not live like Christians because anyone is watching. We do it because we owe Jesus everything. We show our appreciation for all he has done by living as he wants. If you didn’t live as a Christian, how would anyone know that you belong to Jesus?
How would people know? You see, some people don’t read the Bible—they read Christians. People watch Christians leave their homes and head for church on Sunday mornings. They listen to what Christians say. Christians are the advertising un-believers read. If they’re not sold by our words and actions, they won’t want to read the rest of God’s story in the Bible.
Your Christian life may be enough to attract a weary soul to the hope you have in Jesus. When someone asks, you can share Jesus. Your Christian example stamps your words about Jesus with sincerity and truth.
Of course children notice when you don’t act like a Christian. Not just your children but all children. They see and hear what all of us who claim to be Christian do and say. They listen and learn. We provide the pattern they will follow in the future.
Who would notice? Who knows? A friend. A neighbor. A stranger. A child. Your child.
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