Proud of It!!!
A few weeks ago, before I was out the door to church, for some reason my little girls wanted me to wear a sticker that said #1 Dad on it. I think it was for my birthday, but anyway. I always thought that I would be the parent who would wear anything my kids wanted me too. Like the ugly tie for a present, the cheesy bumper sticker for being an honor roll kid, etc....
Well, for some reason, the thought of having to wear that sticker made me cringe a little on the inside. I didn't want to attract any extra attention that day at church. I didn't want people walking up to and asking me, "why ya wearing the sticker." But I couldn't turn them down. They were wearing thier stickers. So, i put it on and drove to church. Right before I walked in the doors, I thought about taking it off but I didn't. I realized that I should be proud to wear this sticker. I should feel honored that my gals wanted me to wear it, and my wife as well. I walked in church and got a few glares, somepeople walked by and read it and smiled. A few students asked me why I was wearing it. I wore it for a few hours until it fell off and quite frankly, I forgot I was wearing it.
I say that to say this. Why are we afraid to bear the name of Christ in our own lives? I have seen a trend in students across America that just don't give a rip about belonging to Jesus. Not all of the time and not all kids but for the most part, it is obvious. We would rather blend in than stand out. We would rather be known as the girl who is a cheerleader than the christian girl who cheers. We would rather be associated as a band of Christians not a christian band. Why? Because we don't want the attention that comes along with the name of Jesus. Are we ashamed or embarrassed? Partly!!
What has happened to the pridefulness of belonging to Jesus? Where are the students who are excited about coming to church, excited about brining friends to youth events, excited to just talk about Christ in general. I'm not saying that we talk and conversate about Jesus 24/7 but how many of us do it for 15 minutes a day. Not many!!!! We would rather talk about Senoir Trips, weekend parties, whp boke up with who, what toe nail polish matches your new dress best, etc... And again, don't get me wrong, all of that is fine, but is that all you talk about, is that all you live for? Think about it for a second. Dwell on the last time you talked about how cool it is to be a Christian to any body. Can you recall it? Can you remember a time we you excitingly talked about Jesus making a difference in your life to anyone? I don't mean talking about a youth group outing where Joey hit Susie's arm and made her ice cream go up her nose. I'm talking about a meaningful conversation where Jesus was the center of the topic and you were excited about it.
We have just become complacent christians. We just want to live life like everyone else. We don't want to be singled out because of our affiliation with Christ but that affiliation in itself is suppossed to make us stand out. Do you see it, do you get it. The fact that you bear the name of Christ means that you can't live a blended life or better yet, shouldn't be able to. Your values, your morals, your speech and thoughts and ideas should continually make you different than any one else around you.
I'm npt saying that we should all go around, looking to be annoying and finding and stirring up difficult situations. What I am saying is that difficult situations should be finding you. Like if you are talking in a group about pre-marital sex, cheating, drug usage, etc.... your values and morals anfd beliefs should set you apart. But all to often we keep our mouths shut because we don't want to be the one with the different view point.
We should be proud to bear the name of Jesus. Just like I got over the fact that my #1 Dad sticker may cause attention to myself, we have to leanrn to not only live with the fact that bearing the name of Jesus will attract attention to our lives, we should be happy about it, joyous and excited. Let me ask you, if Jesus asked you to wear a #1 Christian sticker to school tomorrow, would you do it?
Well, for some reason, the thought of having to wear that sticker made me cringe a little on the inside. I didn't want to attract any extra attention that day at church. I didn't want people walking up to and asking me, "why ya wearing the sticker." But I couldn't turn them down. They were wearing thier stickers. So, i put it on and drove to church. Right before I walked in the doors, I thought about taking it off but I didn't. I realized that I should be proud to wear this sticker. I should feel honored that my gals wanted me to wear it, and my wife as well. I walked in church and got a few glares, somepeople walked by and read it and smiled. A few students asked me why I was wearing it. I wore it for a few hours until it fell off and quite frankly, I forgot I was wearing it.
I say that to say this. Why are we afraid to bear the name of Christ in our own lives? I have seen a trend in students across America that just don't give a rip about belonging to Jesus. Not all of the time and not all kids but for the most part, it is obvious. We would rather blend in than stand out. We would rather be known as the girl who is a cheerleader than the christian girl who cheers. We would rather be associated as a band of Christians not a christian band. Why? Because we don't want the attention that comes along with the name of Jesus. Are we ashamed or embarrassed? Partly!!
What has happened to the pridefulness of belonging to Jesus? Where are the students who are excited about coming to church, excited about brining friends to youth events, excited to just talk about Christ in general. I'm not saying that we talk and conversate about Jesus 24/7 but how many of us do it for 15 minutes a day. Not many!!!! We would rather talk about Senoir Trips, weekend parties, whp boke up with who, what toe nail polish matches your new dress best, etc... And again, don't get me wrong, all of that is fine, but is that all you talk about, is that all you live for? Think about it for a second. Dwell on the last time you talked about how cool it is to be a Christian to any body. Can you recall it? Can you remember a time we you excitingly talked about Jesus making a difference in your life to anyone? I don't mean talking about a youth group outing where Joey hit Susie's arm and made her ice cream go up her nose. I'm talking about a meaningful conversation where Jesus was the center of the topic and you were excited about it.
We have just become complacent christians. We just want to live life like everyone else. We don't want to be singled out because of our affiliation with Christ but that affiliation in itself is suppossed to make us stand out. Do you see it, do you get it. The fact that you bear the name of Christ means that you can't live a blended life or better yet, shouldn't be able to. Your values, your morals, your speech and thoughts and ideas should continually make you different than any one else around you.
I'm npt saying that we should all go around, looking to be annoying and finding and stirring up difficult situations. What I am saying is that difficult situations should be finding you. Like if you are talking in a group about pre-marital sex, cheating, drug usage, etc.... your values and morals anfd beliefs should set you apart. But all to often we keep our mouths shut because we don't want to be the one with the different view point.
We should be proud to bear the name of Jesus. Just like I got over the fact that my #1 Dad sticker may cause attention to myself, we have to leanrn to not only live with the fact that bearing the name of Jesus will attract attention to our lives, we should be happy about it, joyous and excited. Let me ask you, if Jesus asked you to wear a #1 Christian sticker to school tomorrow, would you do it?