04 26 07 A REAL Christian (a little Christ)


“Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another. Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality. Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.”
(Romans 12:9-16)

One of my biggest mistakes when I first received Christ was to remove myself from all non-believers. While it may have helped my spiritual discipline and maturity, I stayed there too long. Now 15 years later, I still struggle to find relationships with non-believers. Jesus, on the other hand, sought out the lost, deliberately becoming friends with those who needed a friend in God.

Jesus knew who he was, according to God’s design; Jesus knew whose he was, according to God’s truth; and Jesus knew his purpose for being here on earth. All this allowed him to relax and ignore what others thought or said about him. It meant Jesus wasn’t worried when others accused him of being a friend of sinners (Luke 19:7) because he was doing exactly what the Father sent him to do: persuade men and women to make peace with God (2 Cor. 5:20).
How do we safely seek the lost and unbelieving? Jesus’ actions suggest that our witness to a non-believer starts with friendship: We earn the right to share the Gospel through relationship. The old cliché is a cliché because it’s true: People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Those who have yet to become friends with God are just like you and me, looking for deep, true, supportive friendships. We need to be a REAL Christian, no phoniness! We need to be a representation of Christ to the lost.
We must meet people from who we are and where they are, not pretend to be someone else: no hypocrisy! Be friendly with everyone. Don't be proud and feel that we are smarter than others. Make friends with ordinary people. While evangelism can indeed be a planned activity, most of our opportunities to share Christ will come in ordinary circumstances: in the check-out line, at the gas pump, even in the Board meeting. People watch our everyday personality and may even ask us why we do what we do! What an open door!
So let’s be real. Let’s be a friend. Let’s meet needs when we see them and let’s allow the Spirit to flow through our personality more often!