Does your life after coming to Christ look different than life before becoming a Christian? What we may not always see, others will notice. When we claim to be followers of Christ, people will hold us to a higher standard.
Peter said in 1 Peter 2:12, “Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when He judges the world.” Live carefully! Does that mean never make a mistake? Ideally perhaps, but more importantly, be consistent in your kindness, in your generosity, in your forgiveness, etc.
In our culture that honors pride, success, and being the best, it can be challenging to think of “others more important than ourselves.” But when we esteem self, Jesus usually gets pushed to the background. Therefore, when we understand what God has done to our thinking about those around us, we see how important demonstrating our faith really is. How will people ever know Christ by my life if my life doesn’t look drastically different than the world around me?
Jesus prayed in John 17:15-18, “I'm not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by Your truth; teach them Your word, which is truth. Just as You sent Me into the world, I am sending them into the world.”
The world around us becomes our mission field, our canvass where we paint a godly picture from ungodly things. All of this requires our thinking differently about our enemies and those who abuse us in ANY way. Paul gives instructions on how to think about everyone we come in contact with: Love one another.
Focus on how you can glorify God in ALL the people you come in contact with, and that will be an indicator you actually UNDERSTAND the gospel of Christ.
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