October 25, 2017
“How has living as a Christian changed others lives?”
I had to think about this question for a while, and honestly, it kind of discouraged me a little bit. I looked back at my life and wondered, “Have I done such an awful job at being a Christian that I can’t even think of the answer?” As I said before and will probably say many times, I strive to live a life where I’m “letting my light shine,” using every day to live as much like Christ as I can and to show God’s love to others. But how well have I really done that? This is a topic that I tend to beat myself up the most over. For me, when evaluating my success in “letting my light shine” is when I see myself as a failure and I become the most discouraged. But to whoever wrote this prompt, thank you. Contemplating this question for about 45 minutes, God really changed my heart.
First of all, I wondered where I would be if I wasn’t raised in a Christian family. Honestly, that scares me to think about. I see other people who weren’t raised in a Christian home come to Christ and I find that the most amazing thing. Would I be a Christian right now if I didn’t grow up hearing the Bible? Would I not be saved? I am so incredibly thankful that I had parents who instilled the Gospel in me at such a young age, but what if they hadn’t? This is why what I am most passionate about is going out and telling others the Truth about God because if no one else has told them, who will? It breaks my heart to think that many people are just never told about God. They haven’t even been told the Truth that will set them free.
Guys, what are we doing?!?! Why are we sitting here, wasting days, time even? Why are we going about our days without spreading the good news of Jesus? Why do we not stop every person we see to make sure that they have heard? Why are we keeping this to ourselves? This is not our story to keep a secret. As believers, we are ORDERED to be disciples; to tell anyone and everyone. Why are we not doing this? Why have I not done this?
Growing up, living as a Christian changed my life and my actions because I was so focused on my reputation. People knew about my faith, so there was no way I was going to be seen at a party that could do extreme damage to my reputation. Not giving in to that temptation was easy for me. My passion for my Christian reputation kept me from even having the desire to associate with those things, and I’m truly grateful that that was not something I struggled with, though it wasn’t necessarily for the right reason.
What I did/do struggle with that God opened up my eyes to is my obsession with needing to be this “perfect” Christian. As I said, when I read this prompt it discouraged me because I looked back at my life and felt there was so much more I could have done to be a “light” and make an impact in my high school. But there is no such thing as a perfect Christian, and if I keep setting my expectations for myself so high then I will always be setting myself up for failure and letting myself down when I can’t accomplish my unrealistic goals. Living as a Godly woman is not something I can do on my own, it is something only God can do as He uses me and works through me when I give my life up completely to Him. Never will I come close to my expectations when I am so focused on myself and my abilities, instead of God and what He can do through me if I let Him USE me to do HIS work.
There’s a difference between trying to be a light and actually being a light. When we get so caught up in showing ourselves as the “perfect Christian” we fail to broadcast the realities – the raw and honest core of our beings that God wants us to show the world and how He’s using them for His Kingdom anyways. You see, God will use you to impact other’s lives when you allow Him to use you in telling others about Him through showing your authentic, broken self.
Much love, Em