Saturday, January 19, 2013

What makes us different?

A friend of mine asked this question on facebook, "How do you tell the difference between today's Christian and the rest of the world? I know this sounds like the beginning of a joke, but sadly it's not."  How would you answer that question?  Some say it is our lifestyle and of course that is important.  Others say that we follow what Jesus said in John 13 that people will know us by our love for one another. 
Today it is difficult to tell believers from nonbelievers.  They speak the same, sometimes using the same crude language as nonbelievers but they forget that Paul warns us about our speech.  They are no different in what they eat or drink or wear or where they go.  Now these things do not make us a Christian but they should be evidences of what we believe.
What about our world view?  How do we make decisions regarding what we buy, where we go, what we think, etc.  Do we make those decisions the same way everyone else does or do we have a Biblical worldview?
What made the people of Israel different from the people around them in Moses' day?  The most important thing is that they were aware of the presence of God.  Are we aware of His presence?  We can love others but what really makes us different is our love for God.  When we get into discussions about abortion, gun control, premarital sex, raising children, education, finances, etc. do the people we talk about know that our view comes from our love for God and His word or are they just our opinions, no better or no worse than anyone's opinion.

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