Smiling doesn't make you a Christian

I'm going to be more than blunt in this blog and probably ramble a tad, so if you are tender hearted, or don't like having bold truth spoke at you then now would be a great time for you to stop reading.

... ok so for those of you still reading if I step on your toes, well then I hope they heal!


I am going to do a bit of venting/ being honest with you today about what annoys me most about Christians 'out reach.'

Our level of out reach is rather pathetic. We hide behind saying we were showing our Christ-likeness today...
...at the grocery store by letting someone go first in line
...we smiled at random strangers we pass
...pay it forward in the Starbucks line
...we teach a class at our church on how to better serve others
... we tell another mom with a kid throwing a fit in public that we've all been there it's ok
... hold a door open for a stranger
...
...
and as you can tell the patheticness goes on and on.

Am I knocking this whole idea of 'being Christ-like?"

Well, maybe just a tad!!

You see this isn't being Christ-like. It's not going above and beyond the call of what another human who doesn't know the love of God could and many times would do.

Though it is nice to smile, or lend a hand, let someone else go first, or even pay it forward these are things we learn in kindergarten on how to treat each other. My son goes to a public school, has a teacher who does not teach the Bible to the children and yet she knows enough to teach the children to be kind to each other.

We learn from infancy what it means to be giving and nice and kind and help others.

So, you may ask "What are you suggesting we do?"

I am suggesting you put yourself out there and actually be different than the rest of the world. The world knows how to be kind. I have strangers pass me all the time who smile, and frankly I doubt many of them know God's love.  So I also doubt me smiling back at them (though yes I do) is going to 'save them' or 'help them see more of Jesus.'

Putting yourself out there does mean actually looking different to the world, and for those of you who think you aren't suppose to be known as crazy or different! THINK AGAIN!!!

Jesus didn't ask you to blend into the world He told you to be a light to the world. He asked you to do more than just say  quick pleasantries to make people smile. He asked you to do more than pay it forward to the stranger in the Starbucks line. He asked you to shine your light before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven!!! (Matthew 5:16)

That means get out there, be daring to be WAY different! Be daring to start an actual conversation with a random stranger today! (oh no what if they don't like you?) The worst that can happen is they walk away. The most that can happen is that you will have an actual life long impact on them.

They aren't going to remember your face just because you smiled at them today in passing. They are going to remember the stranger that took actual time out of their day to interact and get to know them or help them.

Is this outside of your comfort zone? Are you worried the world is going to think you are crazy?

Truth is the world is dying to see the light you have that you have been hiding behind a bushel saying you are a 'Christian" at church or even in public but doing nothing to prove it. Let your actions prove more than Christ is just living in you as your scapegoat to slide your way into heaven but that He is ruling in you!

If you are Christian, you are to be loving and the only thing you are to fear is God, not man

~Hebrews 13:6~
"So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me"

As Christians we are not to merely hide behind the phrase Christian as a way to religiously categorize ourselves. We are to be out there, changing the world by infecting the others with Jesus light. We aren't suppose to be sitting on our couches comfortably every night thinking it's someone else's job to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. 

You are in the world but you are more than just another someone, you are part of the army of Christ! If you are sitting on your couch hoping everyone else is actively serving and all you offer is an occasional smile to a random stranger then you are a lazy soldier!

You are never going to rise and be a warrior if you are sitting on your back side. Warriors are made by fighting the battles, by training, and by obeying the commands of their leader.

Warriors are the ones willing to be different, they don't just fight they go above and beyond that of an ordiary soldier. Be willing to take a risk, be a warrior, not just an untrained soldier who shrinks back from battle but one that is armed and dangerous to the enemy at all times!

~I Corinthians 16:13&14~
Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous.Be strong.  And do everything with love.