Faith at the Crossroads
A couple of weekends ago, I traveled to Alton, Illinois for a friend’s wedding. Several years back, I led a discipleship class for some high school seniors. This was no ordinary group. These guys, four including me, were committed to radical living through transparency. To this day, I have not been able to duplicate that level of transparency in a high school group, even though I desperately tried.
Sitting down to breakfast on Saturday morning, I became engaged in a faith discussion with the groom’s brother’s girlfriend. I became completely aware that this was one of those divine moments that God drops in your lap (or breakfast table).
Our journey of faith is not the same for everyone. We each have baggage that we carry along with us. We have preconceived ideas about what faith is and what it should look like. It’s not just Sunday morning living, it’s daily living – Monday thru Sunday – consistent living. We are human and flawed. We make mistakes. We don’t live consistently day in and day out, and that’s part of the journey; however, when we do more harm then good to those who are watching, we potentially do harm to that person’s journey.
As our conversation came to a close, I was reminded that living a life devoted to God must be transparent. We should reflect Christ in the words we speak, in the actions we do, and in the love we give. Hopefully, this young lady saw another person who loved her as Jesus loved her – not with a condemning heart, but with a loving heart that cares for the lost.
That’s why we are called Christians…i.e Christ like. Everything we do must have Christly elements in it.
For sure. Being Christ-like is tough, yet such an example to others. We are not perfect, but we are on a path.