Ginny Owens sings a song called, "I Am Nothing," and it's mostly about these verses. There have been so many times in my life when I've done things for the Lord and/or other people because I thought that I was supposed to. It's my internal Christian checklist: read the Bible, pray, go to church, write in my journal, go to a Bible study, listen to worship music, don't cuss, volunteer somewhere regularly, go on missions trips, etc., etc. These are all great things to do, but they absolutely don't matter if I'm not being a loving person. For example, if I'm talking behind someone's back or am getting annoyed with lame topics that people talk about.
If I'm truly doing something out of love in general, then that's the time that I'm living life the way I should. That is what will make me a light for Jesus to others. It's tricky, though, because I know how easy it is to overanalyze everything. Am I going to Romania because God is leading me there and He's telling me that I'll point people to Him by going? Or am I going because that sounds fun and I heard that we'll get to go to Transylvania while we're there? (Transylvania wasn't my purpose in going to Romania, but it's kind of cool that I've been there now). Am I reading the Bible because I want to learn more about God? Or is it because it's part of my daily routine and I'm afraid I won't understand things that happen in my life if I haven't read it that day?
I guess the bottom line is that I need to be a loving person first and the motives for everything else won't matter because I'm doing what I'm supposed to by loving others. Being loving is the opposite of being selfish, so I'm pretty sure that anything I do out of love for people and Jesus is going to be the right thing.
Question: When was a time that you did something "Christian-y" out of obligation? When was a time that you did something out of love?
No comments:
Post a Comment