When I Grow Up...

“The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” 1 John 2:4-6.

As many other little girls on this planet, when I was young I had thoughts of becoming a STAR! (Do I hear laughter on the other side of that screen?) I would pretend to sing into microphones, practice certain walks which would be reserved for public appearances, and other crazy things. As I matured I realized this was not a realistic goal for me so my mind turned to more sane thinking. Had I continued to claim and believe that I was a star would put me no closer to becoming one.

As baby Christians we do the same as we claim our spirituality apart from our walk. God knows that this proclamation is important in setting the path of our lives but also will only allow us to claim being a Christian without action for so long. Many people are turned off by Christians as they watch us in our decisions, listen to us in our conversations and experience us in our attitudes. They look to us for authenticity in our faith and credibility in our walk. Can you imagine if I walked into a hospital and claimed to be a doctor trying to access the benefits from that claim? They would throw me out in a second for lack of accreditation, authenticity and references.

The bottom line is if we are truly walking the life of a Christian we should not have to claim anything but rather display everything in our daily walk. It goes far beyond sitting in church once a week, although that is one command from Christ. I remember hearing once from my daughter, Kristen something she had read: “Sitting in church makes you no more a Christian than sitting in a garage makes you a car.”

People should know our Christian claim from the integrity in our decisions, the content of our tongues and the attitude of our hearts.