Only God can truly say who is a follow of Christ and who is not, but there are still ways that people can prove their faith. I am not talking about one time prayers or baptism but lifestyles. The way people conduct themselves on the daily is what proves their devotion to God. For the sake of this blog, I will continue to use the Fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23(A)) as the basis for proving one's faith. Last week, I talked about love (treating all people with the same love we would show God), joy (the celebration of being a Christian), and peace (finding rest in God). For this week's installment I will address: patience, kindness, and goodness.
PATIENCE:
Patience should be the easiest one of these fruits to obtain, but it is not. Patience requires just doing nothing; allowing things to happen then acting when appropriate. As the bible says, "Be still, and know that I am God (Psa 46:10)." However, worry and anxiety tend to override people's ability to patiently wait for God to act. Instead, people try to figure out a way to take control of their lives rather than humbly stepping aside and letting God wok. I am not saying that we are to be lazy (Pro 13:4(B), Ecc 10:18(C)), but rather put trust in God's power and plan. People do have daily worries, but a Christian does not let the worries of tomorrow interfere with the worries of today (Mat 6:34(D)).
KINDNESS:
There are many ways to display kindness, but my favorite is service. Many Christians think the only way they can serve is by going on mission trips, feeding kids at soup kitchens, or some other organized activity. Kindness, however, should be a regular occurrence in one's day: making cupcakes for everyone, holding a door open, taking time to help someone with work. Kindness though service does not have to be a big flashy show for it to be pleasing to God. It's like what Matthew 25:40 says "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
GOODNESS:
It is really easy to get pessimistic about goodness when you read certain verses (Rom 3:10,23(E)), but Christians can act out goodness in their everyday lives. Consider the story of Jesus and the rich man in Matthew 19:16-28(F). When asking what good thing he must do to get to heaven, Jesus replies, "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." As Christian, we have been given certain parameters to live by, and it is through this obedience that we display the goodness of God.
That wraps up the second edition of "I Got Proof" the final part will be posted next Sunday.
A:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gal%205:22-23&version=NIV
B:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=prov%2013:4&version=NIV
C:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ecc%2010:18&version=NIV
D:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mat%206:34&version=NIV
E:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rom%203:10,23&version=NIV
F:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mat%2019:16-28&version=NIV
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