As a council member of my church, I had the opportunity at our meeting last night to review a chapter in Reclaiming the "E" Word, and then give devotions based upon that material. I selected the chapter about living a purposeful life. It was well suited to me because it fit well with my favorite Biblical passage to explain why we are on this earth.
Hebrews 10:24 states: "Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds." I believe that passage is the actionable statement for Jesus' message to love one another. I also believe the reason for our existence on earth is to care for one another. This is how I try to live my life and it was the basis for my book, Simple Things to Make This World a Better Place.
The gist of the chapter was that church should be a place, not just to worship God, but to equip us for being Disciples of Christ in our daily lives. We should not have to be an in-your-face Christian for people to know that is who we are. Our very lives, through actions and behavior, should demonstrate that.
When people see us do good things, live with joy, respond positively to negativity, atone for our mistakes, and show genuine care for our fellowman, that defines us as a Christian. Certainly, there are many good people who do these positive things, but we as Christians should purposely strive to do them.
Of course, none of us wants to exhibit behavior that will cause others to think hypocrisy when we fail. Instead, it can be a good lesson to show others how we respond when we do fail - apologizing, atoning, having faith, and never repeating the same offence can speak volumes. After all, forgiveness is a cornerstone of our faith, and sometimes forgiving ourselves is the most difficult. But since we know we are forgiven, it makes it easier to live a good life.
So, the big question we should each ask ourselves is this: Do the people we encounter in our daily lives know that we are a Christian without us having to tell them?"
The answer can be a little scary.
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