Being an Example

We're constantly setting an example for the world to see, whether we like it or not.  Many times I am not a great example and sometimes I can be.

I'm not mad at God anymore, thankfully.  It was quite the slump I was in though!  My stubborn, stiff-necked self needs to find that place where I have no other way to turn except away from God or towards Him.  He truly is the only best answer.

This past week I had a staff meeting at work.  Our devotion was on the power of the tongue and gossip.  One of the points that was made came from 1 Samuel 16:7  where God informs Samuel that "man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart."  Most times the focus from teachings about that verse is on how our Lord sees our heart.  But this time the focus was on the first part...how man sees what is visible.  Our lives are a constant example to others of who God is because we are His representatives.

I sorely needed that reminder.  Even when I'm being sinful and selfish, I can't just take off that "hat" of being a representative for Christ.  There is more than just me and my soul at stake.  I cannot get stuck on myself or I neglect God's calling on my life to represent Him in everything I do.

Another point God has made for me recently is from John 4:42.  It's the passage about Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman at the well.  The people in her town originally believed in Jesus as Messiah because of the woman's reaction to Him.  Verse 42 says, "And they told the woman, 'We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world."

That verse is a parallel to what happens now in our time.  When we share Christ with others, they often come to Him because they are influenced by the change and excitement we have shared, but once they meet Jesus for themselves, He becomes the lasting reason for their faith.  We don't have to sustain someone else's faith, we simply point the way and let Him do the rest!