Giving God 99% of Me

Sometime I wonder…

If you take away the bumper sticker on your car that says “Jesus Loves you”, if you take away the t-shirt you are wearing with a catchy Christian phrase on it, if you take away the cross hanging around your neck… would people see Jesus in you?

From the very beginning of time God called us to be holy, set apart, different from the world around us.

But often times I find that there is a very thin, blurry line in the distinction of a real Christian and an unbeliever.

Other than the fact that a Christian attends a special service every Sunday morning there is little evidence to help distinguish us from the rest of the world during the week.

We settle for a mediocre, part-time Christianity where we follow after Christ based on our own timing and preferences rather than His.

If His truth isn’t the popular opinion in the world today then we push it away and keep quiet about it.

If His Word challenges us to do something inconvenient or uncomfortable for us then we say we’ll do it “another day”.

If the path He calls us to walk seems too narrow and too hard we just ignore it and keep going on our own way.

What we hear preached on Sunday morning and what we read in the Bible every day are not truths we believe we need to live by or obey, instead we just think of them as good advice to follow.

When it’s convenient for us.

When the opinion of the world matches God’s.

When it doesn’t get in the way of our own desires.

But God calls us to live wholeheartedly for Him.

Not just on Sunday morning, but every day.

He calls us to become more like Him instead of the world.

When people look at you they should be able to say “there’s something different about her or him”.

Your standards, your values, your lifestyle, and your beliefs should not match the worlds.

Where you spend your time, who you hang out with, what you say and do should all be a reflection of Christ.

We should not be indulging in the same type of entertainment as the world is indulging in.

We should not be spending our Friday night’s in the same place the world is.

We shouldn’t be using the same vocabulary as the world is.

We should not have the same priorities and pursuits as the world does.

Yet often times we resemble the world much more than we resemble Christ.

Our lives should be filled with evidence that Christ is within us.

That He is the one behind our words, our actions, and our priorities.

That He is what makes us different, set apart.

But if we don’t possess any of His qualities how can we really reflect Him?

How can we claim we are “real” Christians if our actions and values don’t match what we say?

Anyone can quote a Bible scripture.

But it takes a real believer to live out God’s Word daily.

Anyone can show up to church every Sunday morning.

But it takes a real believer to be the church to people around them every day.

Anyone can wear a cross around their neck and a catchy Christian t-shirt.

But it takes a real believer to share the Good News with their words, not with what they wear.

Today think about your life.

Is it different from the average person’s?

Or is it exactly the same?

If someone who just met you were asked if they can sense something different you about, what would they say?

Can people see Christ in you?

Is there anything other than a Christian t-shirt and a fish on the back of your car that proves that you are truly a believer?

Or do you walk the same, talk the same, and act the same as the world?

I don’t know about you but I want my life to be more than empty words.

I want it to be more than a Sunday morning routine.

I want living for Christ to be something more than just a check mark on my “to do” list.

I want it to be radical.

I want it to be passionate.

I want it to be real.

I don’t want to give God 50%, 75%, or even 99% of me.

I want to give Him all of me.

My words.

My actions.

My desires.

My plans.

My every single step.

So that in the end all the world will see is all of Him, and none of me.

Be blessed and make sure to walk out your faith and shine bright today-Anna… ♥

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:2