2 Corinthians 1:12, “We have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace.”
What do our lives reflect?
God is so amazing and has done so much for us, but do our lives accurately reflect all that He has really accomplished? When other people look at our lives what do they see? All to often some christians tend to be broken down people, who have struggled and come to crisis, where in that crisis they turn to God, get saved, get in church, get right, etc., all that churchy stuff, but they never end up properly reflecting this amazing God who supposedly set them free. They still look the same.
In fact christians even have a popular saying “I’m not perfect , just forgiven”. Its like a disclaimer to the world, “Im a broken mess but I’m saved and you’re not so leave me alone and deal with it, I can act anyway I choose, God forgives me just not you”. This is WRONG! Burn that shirt, bumpersticker or wall decor now! This is NOT the message or reflection of the Kingdom of God.
Now don’t get me wrong, there are a bunch a very sincere people who are just trying the best they can who may say this phrase. I’m not referring to them but to the general attitude this phrase has come to represent. When we come to God our lives should get better and start looking different, not the same. We can no longer act anyway we seem fit just because we are forgiven. This doesn’t properly reflect Gods mercy and love in our lives, or His Kingdom.
When we come to God we now have a responsibility to represent Him and all that He has done so others can see that in our lives and see that there is hope, that God is real, and that maybe there is hope for them as well.
“The world doesn’t want to see your broken mess, they see that already in their own lives. They want to see your broken mess transformed into a life truly touched by God”.
After all now that we have been saved and rescued we are representing someone far better than us, why do we think we can be so sloppy about it. You are an ambassador, a representative of Gods Kingdom, start acting like it. The world doesn’t want to see your broken mess, they see that already in their own lives. They want to see your broken mess transformed into a life truly touched by God. When our actions match the words coming from our lips, our testimony will be seen as true.
an accurate reflection
I remember a story of a young couple who were going through marriage issues. She and her family showed up one day to clear out the house and take whatever belonged to her and leave. There was shouting and fighting and the neighbors called the police. I remember the devastated young man, standing in the street talking to the police. He said “I’m so sorry, we are christians we should be better than this”.
I think what he meant was he saw all this shouting and fighting and chaos and it looked just like everyone else lives. That being a christian should mean something, there should be a reflection in us coming from Heaven that looks different, sounds different, acts different, not just trying to be a better person but a truly changed life reflecting to the world the greatness of an amazing God.
the world sees right through a “form” of godliness, we need to truly allow God to change us from within.
Does this mean we can never have bad days or we can never mess up? Of course not! We are after all still human. It just means we make every effort to truly represent and reflect all that God is and has done for us. We don’t live so carefree and loose. This may be as simple as making sure your bills are paid, that you keep your word, or that you truly let God change those attitudes in you that don’t belong. OUCH! Yeah I know, that’s a big one, but the world sees right through a “form” of godliness, we need to truly allow God to change us from within.
The bottom line is that all of us can do a better job at better representing the Kingdom of God in our lives and truly letting God reflect how awesome He really is in you. Let’s stop using forgiveness as an excuse to live like slobs. Jesus deserves more then that, He deserves our best effort to represent Him well.
God is amazing and has done amazingly wonderful things in our lives they should better reflect it.
Scripture references: 2 Corinthians 1:12