Coming home from school the other day, I was reflecting over my day and hoping that I made a good impression on specific people throughout the day. It occurred to me, that all the people I wanted to be a good example to, were Christians strong in their faith. I'm not saying that's wrong. We should be good examples to our brothers and sisters and Christ, someone that has an uplifting presence.
However, I began feeling very guilty because I realized I was more concerned about how I behaved in front of other Christians rather than those who didn't know Christ. So many times we get too caught up in being the "perfect Christian" in front of other Christians. Christianity is not a contest. It's not about who retweeted the most uplifting tweets, listened to the most worship music, or studied the most bible verses, and it's not about bragging about that in front of others so they can see you are the "good". It's about how the bible verses, worship music, and the love Christ has for us shapes us and flows from our hearts in front of others, children of God but especially in front of the world.
Let's face it. No one is the "perfect Christian". There are days when we don't spend enough time in God's word, we choose getting on our phones instead of spending quiet time with God, or we let the stress get the best of us and react in anger towards someone. But we want our church friends to know that we have it together. We put on a façade. It's similar to the way we dress when we know important people will see us. Maybe you're trying to impress the cute boy that sits next to you in class or you want all your girlfriends to see you as someone with a perfect sense of style. So we put on our best outfit and try to look the best we can to get them to notice. We dress to impress others. We often do the same in our faith. Wanting others to take notice, we try to act like we live the perfect life, and forget the main reason we should be striving to live better. The lost. Our goal shouldn't be to impress but to impact.
When we start focusing on just impressing other Christians, we're losing sight of the mission. Mark 16: 15 tells us to "go into all the world and preach the gospel". God sent His son to save everyone. He left His people the job to spread that message. They way we want other Christians to see us, is the way we should want the world to see us. Salvation doesn't come with a light switch that we can turn on and off whenever we desire. Our lives should portray the same message to everyone. Don't just tell your church friends about your new favorite worship song or about God providing you with peace or revealing something to you through His word. Let the whole world know! That's what God desires of us. Yes, it's so refreshing to hear one of my friends tell me about her joy in Christ but that doesn't mean she can't tell others. The joy and passion God so gracefully gives us should be overflowing and evident to everyone, saved and lost!
Stop focusing on trying to act your best in front of other Christians. Focus on your walk with Christ and develop an intimate relationship with Him. Let Him renew your mind and spirit continuously through the day. Pray to be so full of His love that it pours out to everyone that comes in contact with you. It's impossible to be the "perfect Christian", but when you quit worrying about your image and allow God to transform you, I promise you will become a greater testimony to God's people and the world. It will be authentic and genuine. Trying to be the best you can be is exhausting because you're trying to do the impossible, but allowing a perfect God to use you as vessel will uplift you as much as those around you.
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