One thing many people say is that life is hard. If you look at our economic situation, house foreclosures, divorce and unemployment statistics and the amount of crimes we have in our nation these figures can be pretty scary. One common misconception is that when you come into a relationship with God all of these things go away. We are suddenly able to live an amazing life free of troubles, one that has a supply of money, great marriage and friendships, and nothing bad ever happens to them. As much as we would love to live like that sometimes life as a Christian is harder than that. When we are sharing the Gospel with others trying to tell them that they will have prosperity as a Christian can be just as hurtful to our mission as scaring people into the faith with the “Turn or Burn” message.
This really shouldn’t be a surprise to us. If we look back at the apostles, especially Paul, they didn’t have it easy. Paul was beat up, put in prison, whipped and eventually hung for sharing his faith with others. Our Savior had the exact same thing happen to Him. He was ridiculed, cast out, his own people turned their back on Him, and ultimately He died on the cross for us. If we are wanting to be more like Jesus we need to understand the fact that our life will not be easy. Sharing the message of salvation is not something that is easy to do and Christ told us that because they do not know Him, they will not know us. As Christians we have accepted this mission when we signed on. We have committed to follow Christ till the end of our days, and sometimes it means being in rough spots. We have faith because our Father in Heaven pours out His love on us in ways we sometimes don’t realize.
God never told us that our life would be easier when we chose to follow Him but that He would never leave us. He gives us a full life. One that we cannot attain otherwise. Even in our troubles God is there guiding us though them even if we don’t see it. As new believers come onto the journey we have an amazing opportunity. We get to share with them what we have gone though for the sake of Christ and help them along the way. In our trials and troubles God uses them to reach others in ways we may never see. Non believers and new believers don’t want to buy into something that we are fake about, and when we share about everything that God has gotten us though our faith is real.
The prosperity Gospel is fake. You don’t get a sign-on bonus for becoming a Christian, but instead you are able to live a life that is renewed in Christ. While we live as Christians we have to become transparent which means putting the old to death. The new creation God has molded us into is revealed when we live a transparent lifestyle. We don’t believe people when they put up fronts so we should not live like this ourselves. This means that we are in the spotlight because we serve God and we need to keep that in mind. If we begin to really live what we say we believe we have the ability to reach those far from God with just being who God crafted us to be.
When we get discouraged about our faith we must rely on God to refill us. Paul in all that he was put though was singing songs of praise to God. We often in trials blame God, but instead we should praise Him in the storm. If we begin to live this we will be put into places that we can help others along the journey and call new people into a relationship with Christ. It isn’t easy helping others along the journey, but if we show love to them in all areas we will begin to grow in our journey. Sometimes God asks us to let someone else live on borrowed faith for a season so they might be drawn into a deeper relationship with God.
If we are not living a life that continues to dive deeper into our relationship with Christ we will not have faith to help others along the way. Believers are not just one person in a sea of faces, but one person being a part of a community of faces. Christ meant for us to do life together in community and to invite others into the journey. We do not walk this path alone, but with our Savior beside us and our brothers and sisters in Christ in front and behind us. Community living allows us to sometimes borrow others faith and in turn will grow ours. We long for the day when this is the case with believers, and we don’t feel like just one person in a sea of faces.
Throughout this week begin to seek out other believers and fellowship with them. If you’re not plugged into a community like this search one out. If we are going to reach people for Christ we are much stronger in a group than as individuals. Begin to live lives that are, as Ephesians 4 says, worthy of the call that we have received. Our call is to be real with those around us and open to sharing our faith. Continue to pray for God to allow you to minister to people and invite them into the journey. Let us take the hard road that gives us a fulfilling life rather than a prosperous one that leaves us empty. May God bless you all as we continue on this journey to reach those far from God!
Dive Deep,
KC
Wow! that is amazing to think about!!
Thanks