(Reprinted from Pastor Dave’s Creative Ministry Blog AMOKArts.com)
And it matters a lot. It matters in the way we conduct ourselves around others. It matters in the way we act when we are wronged and it matters how we act when we’re right. It matters how we act when we lose and when we win. It matters in every single thing we do and every single choice we make. Think about who we serve. We serve the One who laid down His life for everyone including His enemies. He is the One who washed the feet of His betrayer, knowing full well what His betrayer was about to do. He is the One who called His followers to go the extra mile and turn the other cheek. He’s the One who called us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Think about how and why He died. In the natural world, He died in large part because His own people wanted Him to go to war, to overthrow their human oppressors, and give them power and might in this world. He had a longer view in mind. He laid down His life to overthrow our much more powerful spiritual oppressor and give us eternal life. Let’s not become short sighted. We are in this world to carry on His work and represent Him. The salvation of humanity hangs in the balance. Will we be a wall or a door? Will our actions, and the way we represent Jesus, draw people to Him or make them turn away?
The answer to this is harder that you think, sometimes. I know for me, there have been many times when I have wanted to get out my poison pen and create work that puts people in their place. I’ve wanted to shout people down, win the argument and rule the day. The thing is, if I do that, even if I win, I lose. We need to be like Jesus. We need to live His way. If we are going to take a stand, it needs to be His stand, and we need to stand like He would stand. None of this is easy to navigate in this world, and I confess that I have failed too many times to count. While it is wonderful to be able to rely on God’s grace, people’s grace is often much harder to get. People matter, and they matter a lot. The Bible tells us that’s it’s God’s will that no one would perish, but that everyone would come to repentance. The only way to avoid perishing is to come to Jesus. My prayer is that I will never ever be a stumbling block that keeps people from finding the hope that I have found in Him. And the key to that is to remember that no matter what happens, I need to live in that hope.
Lord help me to represent you well in ever aspect of my life, because how I represent you matters.
It matters a lot.