This evening after bible study, I got to thinkin' about "transparency as a key to my testimony." It's definitely true that you have to be honest about your past and how far God has taken you. I am not transparent enough and I don't give God enough credit for how far I have come. Some of my friends who have known me for almost 10 years know the person I used to be. Well, I'm telling you now, I didn't do all that changing by myself. And sometimes, depending on the day and whom I am with, I haven't changed that much at all.
I suppose to some extent we all want to put our best face forward, but sometimes this back fires and people don't think that we ever do anything wrong. I remember a comment a friend had made about not going to church because she was too much of a sinner. Well, honey, that's what all the people in church are - they're all sinners too! It also reminds me of when Matthew and I were still in undergrad at A&M. When we would tell people that we went to a certain church, we often got the response, "Oh, I didn't know you were Christians. Ya'll are too 'fun' to be Christians." That perception of Christianity saddened me. And I know that it drives people away. Who wants to accept Jesus Christ as your savior and become a Christian? No way, then I have to give up having fun too. Admittedly, I haven't heard this comment in a while though.
Lately, I've been wrestling with this issue: how do I be sympathetic to my friends' issues while encouraging what is Godly and not appearing judgemental?
No comments:
Post a Comment