Day 11: Stand Out

Read:  Romans 2:17-24

I can’t remember a time in my life where I didn’t know about God. I grew up in the Church, and by the age of four, I decided I wanted to follow Jesus. Most of my life, I have considered myself a Christian. I went to all the events, went through all the programs, was baptized at the age of eight. I did everything I could in, and with the church. I knew the Bible. I knew what it said, I knew what it taught. I knew, yet I failed to obey it and I didn’t care.

Christians are called to stand out from the world in compassion, kindness, love, forgiveness, and passion for Christ. I knew what I was called to do, but I was not brave enough to take the step and stand out.

During my junior year of high school I acted no different from the people around me. In fact, I was worse than most of my friends who had never stepped foot in a church. I lied, I gossiped, I was rude, I judged others, I constantly complained, and I was disrespectful to everyone. The list went on and on. I didn’t attempt or want to change my life. I loved God, but I wasn’t ready to live for Him. I still called myself a Christian but I was living a life far from what Christ asks of us.

However, the summer after my junior year, God transformed my life. He surrounded me with true Christians friends. Through them, I learned that it wasn’t enough to just know about God. If I loved God, I had to be willing to give my life to Him. My life needed to reflect who I claimed to follow.

In Romans, Paul explains why righteousness can only come through faith in Christ. Those who hoped to become righteous through their obedience to the law were not as good as they thought. Romans 2:19-23 says, “And if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.” The implied answer to all these questions is yes. Even those who boast in the law cannot measure up to the law.

We cannot effectively command someone not to steal if at the same time we are stealing. We cannot call out someone on sin if we are doing the same thing. We are prideful if we believe that we don’t sin. The first step is to humble ourselves, acknowledging that we are full of sin. Then, we need to seek to change and give over our lives to Jesus. Every bit of our life should be devoted to following Him.

Are you honoring God in all that you do? God is not an occasional part of our lives, He is the foundation for our identity. Everything that we do needs to be done to glorify God. Sharing the truth and love of Jesus is one of those ways you can show you love God. Who in your life can you tell about Jesus? Write a name down. Pray. And then tell.