What if that one thing you said or didn’t say caused someone to choose death over life? What if that one time you chose to ignore someone and didn’t include them caused them to turn from God? What if how you treated someone in front of others caused them to stumble and fall in their walk with Jesus? What if your failure to offer friendship caused them to miss out on eternity? What if we physically saw the words we choose to speak being tattooed into someone’s heart? What if you saw the stones of accusation being piled up in a backpack for the person to wear? What if every action, thought, motive, or choice we made or didn’t make had a real life consequence we could see before it happened? What if…

God’s word says, in Colossians 4:5-6 we are to “conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person”. When we make the most of every opportunity we are acting as Christ with skin on. We are looking at others and seeing what he sees, feeling towards them what he feels. We are reaching out in His love for Him to the hurting, the lonely, the new, the quiet and the nervous. We are His representation to the people of this time and this place. Is this the most popular route? Will those whom society deems as popular always going to understand your motive and intent in how you conduct yourself? In the friendships you offer or the things you choose to share or say? No. Just like the Pharisees who were supposedly the élite of the time did not understand neither will the popular of this. God doesn’t call us to fit in a mold of socially acceptable peer groups. He calls us to stand out, to be set apart. We are to be a city on a hill, a lampstand whose light shines bright. We are to look like Him and act like Him. He said so in Philippians 1:27, “Whatever happens conduct yourself in a manner worthy of Christ”. And in Romans 14:12-13 he says this, “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s (or sister’s) way.”

What if Jesus chose to only present himself to those whom the society of that time said was important? Can you imagine the impact it would have on the words we read today in the bible? What would become of the woman at the well? All of society had shunned her, she mattered to no one or so she thought. Would the leper receive his healing? What of the woman who endured a lifetime of bleeding but was brave enough to approach the messiah for healing? What of the woman who’s child had died? Or Lazarus? What about the lame, the sick or the hurting? Would any of these people meet the criteria of society’s idea of “good enough”? Would they qualify to receive any kind of attention from the one who came to save them? Would then there be a reason, a purpose for Christ to die for our sins? What if…

What if instead we intentionally set about God’s work in our daily lives, at home, at work, at school? What if we chose to befriend the person sitting alone at lunch? What if we welcomed each new person into our circle of acceptance? What if when that person who walks dejected down the hall lifts their head looks at you and you smile and say hi causes them to choose life one more day? What if we compliment that one girl who chose to go bold in her fashion and hair and she turns out to be the next worship leader in a dynamic Christ centered church? What if the conversation you shared during class to the lonely, the afraid, the quiet, the shy, the nervous caused them to become a missionary to a foreign nation? What if the one time we chose be radical in our faith and walk; not caring who sees or if we “fit in”, impacted a generation of people? What if we invite those in our sphere of influence to church and this one small action causes them to choose a life with Christ setting them on a path to eternity? What if…

 

Copyright © 2016 Melanie McKinley. All Rights Reserved.