A Reminder of What We Are

                                                                                                                                                               Vol. XXIII, No. 7, August 2010

          First let me tell you a quick story. Recently I had the privilege of going to dinner with my parents (godly folks whom I love dearly) at one of our local restaurants. As I entered (late as usual), my parents were standing to move to a different table. Of course I found this to be a bit odd and asked the reason for their moving. To my dismay the response was not someone smoking or foul language being tossed about, but rather it was the large group of “Christians” seated near us. Even worse, this group of “Christians” was pastors, who found their topic of conversation that evening roaming into the realm of gossip about their own church body. To say the least it disgusted me. Not the inconvenience of moving tables, but the total disregard for how these men (and Christians in general) were being perceived by the world around them. For many people the only “Christ” they will ever see is you and me, and that day, and unfortunately many others, we show Christ to be someone who gossips, lies, is lazy, hateful, rude and anything but what He truly is. He is loving, caring, hardworking (he was a carpenter’s son), thoughtful, wonderful, powerful, and the list goes on.

          The fact is, Scripture tells us in Matthew 5:14-16 that we are the light of the world and that light should not be hidden, but rather put up on the hill that the whole world may see the light. Unfortunately, many of us hide that light behind the shroud of darkness, which is sin. Instead of the world seeing us walking and talking as Christ, they see us walking and talking just like the rest of the world, while still claiming to be Christian (check out Revelation 3:15-17, to see what God’s word says about lukewarm believers). So here is my challenge to you, if you want to claim to be a Christian, start acting like a Christian. Be aware that your every action is watched and scrutinized by a world that is searching for answers, answers that you have if you are a child of God. Do not be the reason that someone says “I don’t want any part of whatever those Christians have”, but give them reason to say “whatever you have? Give me some of that!” I pray that each of you take to heart these simple words and realize that your daily actions do have consequences, not just for today but for eternity. God Bless.

Rev. Charles M. Troxell III

Associate Pastor

Bethany Baptist Church