THEY ARE WATCHING

THEY ARE WATCHING

This week something happened to me that provided such clarity and freedom. And, I wanted to share it with you.

They were watching, and it was okay.

So what do I mean by that? Well, so many Christians truly find it overwhelming to keep up the good fight. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to perform well and to be a great example.

Humm…Perform well?

It is important to be great witnesses of Christ. We, in fact, are told to do this…and to make believers of men. But this, ‘Make believers of men.’ is what provided the clarity. To make believers of them inclines us to believe they then are currently NOT believers. Right?

Where is our focus when we try to be great examples of Christ? Is it on appearing or performing well to our fellow Christians… Eeek. If so I fear we are off a bit. That is only half of it.

I was challenged by another this weekend. They had given up on their faith. Saying we are pretentious and fake. Luckily, the last but not least, fruit of the spirit passed through me and somehow I maintained all composure 😉 Partly because it seemed so far off to me that my actions are fake, there just wasn’t room for defense.

My gut responded before my thoughts could kick in and I said, “Hum, thanks for opening up to me. I find it so baffling that my actions could be deemed fake when they come from my heart.”

He really didn’t respond for a bit. Then he told me I was the first person he shared that with who didn’t spout off a bunch of verses or statements about it being our job to be ‘excellent examples’, ‘high specimens of the human race’. I could tell he was bitter and had been bit with the judgment or condemnation bug. I hate to see God’s people turn away.

This individual knows me, sees me on social media and knows of my work. How is it that I was deemed ‘okay’ by him, a non-believer who once loved and follow Christ, but now loves the world and follows nature and the spirits?

LOVE. This was the deference. I was not explaining or defending with rules or reason. I simply expressed love as my focus.

Believe me, I push the limits on my faith with others, far more than I ever thought I would. Now I wish I’d begun this journey years ago. I could have changed the trajectory of so many more lives. But that is not how God wants us to be thinking…in the past. Today let’s just be hopeful for tomorrow and the change we can make in another’s life right now.

We need to let LOVE lead. Let it lead our conversations, actions, and dreams. We need to put away thoughts of looking perfect, and ‘performing’ well to others. Especially other Christians. They know us, they should have grace for us as we fall short. It is the overwhelmed, lost, or despondent that we need to reach.

It is the nonbelievers that my heart goes out to today. Those weighed down by the world. How many of them are we missing by passionately trying to reach them with the wrong intentions? There are so many people ‘off’ in the world today. Their beliefs are so twisted and misguided that they actually sound true and right when they are completely the opposite.

We do need to reach them…to be fishermen. But they won’t hear of our rules, commands, or truth. What they will hear is LOVE. We all have love. It is and will always be our way to connect.

Today, try to be a great example of Christ. And, worry less about being perfect…Jesus has us covered. Just do your best to be LOVING as you share God’s truths. For then YOU WILL BE AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF CHRIST.

They will watch you, and it will okay.
Faith Infused Living…Reaches Goals Higher!
Niccie Kliegl RN, CLC

Author of Awaking the Living Legacy