“Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from His love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? (Philippians 2:1 NLT)
My wife and I enjoy watching crime dramas on TV. Blue Bloods is our favorite, and as we watch an episode, we find ourselves making predictions as to who did what and why. Presumably, in every crime there is a corresponding reason, which often leads to the person who committed the crime.
The goal is to gather overwhelming evidence that will identify the right suspects that will lead to the right person who committed the crime. Joyce Meyer said: “If you are accused of being a Christian, there should be enough evidence to convict you.” What evidence in your life and mine would be good enough to convict us of being a Jesus follower?
Related to that question: “If someone isn’t a Jesus follower, what overwhelming evidence might they need to see in order to move them in the direction of following Him?” My experience is that there are some who are just closed to ANY information regarding becoming a Jesus follower. And notice I steer away from the overused term “Christian,” because it’s become so distorted, people who now live vile and ungodly lifestyles still refer to themselves as “Christian.”
Dr. Steven J. Lawson wrote: “No one can be saved until they know they are lost. No one believes the good news until they know the bad news.” If you follow Jesus today, what led you to believe? And please don’t say: “I’ve always believed!” That may be true, but you haven’t always been a Jesus follower. How do I know that?
It’s like saying “I’ve always been married.” Maybe it feels like that sometimes, but the truth is, if you’re married it happened on a specific day and time. It required a set of vows that you exchanged promising to be faithful, and so forth. Similarly, if you can’t point to a specific event, not necessarily a specific day and time, but a point in your life when you invited Jesus to become the Lord of your life, you probably haven’t.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of “conformers” to Christian teaching that don’t know the Christ. They’re so busy doing the work of the Lord they’ve forgotten (or have never truly known) the Lord of the work. Andy Mineo wrote: “You live different when you know you’ve been forgiven.” There’s a hunger, not only to serve God, but to know Him, to live and move and have your being in Him.
There develops a deep conviction that literally believes, “apart from Me you can do nothing!” A lifestyle that is seeking to become more like Jesus isn’t forced or faked. There’re no counterfeit believers, at least not in God’s mind. We’ve heard and understood the bad news and have turned control of our lives over to the Lord without reservation. Does that mean we never sin or make a mistake in judgment? No, but that’s our goal.
It should be evident in the way we live and love that Jesus is the Ruler and Owner of our lives. When He’s in control there is undeniable evidence that we belong to Him. How so? He’s the priority (see Matthew 6:33) in our habits, that ultimately will reflect His leadership; in our relationships; in our finances; in our work; in our attitudes; in our time management; in our worship; in our humility; in our unflinching devotion to Jesus in everything we do, say and think.
This is the evidence that demands the verdict in those who view our lives, that we know, love, and are following Jesus. They may not come to the Lord by watching our lives, but hopefully, it will open an opportunity for us to speak with them about Him.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 