Our world is a rule-centered society, where it should be a people-centered society. I have witnessed many times when we bring politics and religion into any given situation, it causes division. God never intended for our world to be divided. After all, the words in the Pledge of Allegiance say, "One Nation Under God". We are the ones that cause the division because of sin.
I have also witnessed in many different situations that people despise what they don't understand. And sometimes that leads us to be obnoxious and offensive. For this reason some have even said that if they say anything about Jesus to their friends, they are going to be an instant reject. That's what most often keeps believers from sharing Christ. Satan and the world around you try to make you believe that what people think is more important than the message of freedom you have to share with them. As long as you focus on yourself instead of others, you'll be ineffective as a liberator. When you evangelize and disciple others, you liberate them from the power of sin and Satan.
Jesus was no plastic saint. His world was gritty, smelly, and dirty. And when His life ended, He suffered a filthy, sweaty, bloody death. Because he lived a nitty-gritty life, He understands the nitty-gritty of your life. He knows about your struggles with life and work and problems because He had to deal with them too. He's a real-world kind of Savior.
To be a Christian means to put people before rules. No one was more people-centered than Jesus. He taught, healed, blessed, lived, and died for people. He came to help people see that the Old Testament rules they had made cold, brittle, and brutal were actually guidelines for loving God and people. The conflict that ignited in Mark 2 between the people-centered Savior and the rule-centered Jewish leaders is what led those leaders to nail Jesus to the cross (see Mark 3:6)
If you only hang out with other believers, attend only Christian events, and buy only from Christian-owned stores, you're totally missing the chance to be people-centered "salt" in the world - to communicate God's love firsthand, as Jesus did, to those who need it most.
One warning: If you spend time with non-Christians to win them to Christ, you might catch it at both ends. Non-Christians may mock you because you won't get involved in some of their activities, and Christians friends might reject you because they assume you're diving into sin. If that happens, take heart. You're in great company. Because Jesus spent time with a tough crowd, the self-righteous Pharisees criticized Him.
I have been rejected by some of my friends because of my faith. You need people. But you need Jesus most of all. Some may say that I blog for my own glory. But if you will look back over the more than 400 posts on my blog, you will see only a handful of comments. If I were doing it for my own glory I would have stopped blogging a long time ago. Genuine love doesn't give with a payback in mind. Whether or not its actions or words are appreciated, love keeps giving.
In all our activities, our emphasis should be on honoring God, rather than ourselves. When God's spirit is alive within us, HE compels us to take ground back for the Kingdom of God.
Let your smile change the world. But don't let the world change your smile.
Blessings,
Dalinda
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