Can You Tell Just By Looking At Me?

Jesus Himself says in Matthew 22:37-39 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.' There's the vertical. He then states, "A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" There's the horizontal. 

I've found that the less 'vertical time' I have (time spent with God), the more clearly I need to work on my 'horizontal' (time spent with others). When I am not in a good season of pursuing God by reading, praying, spending time with people in groups or on Sunday's, I find I'm more impatient, quicker to get angry and less interested in getting to know others. In other words, not a delight to be around. 

One of the biggest detractors of following Christ is spending time with those 'following' Christ. Not those who are truly following Christ, sold out to Him, showing it by the way they love people. and how they always go beyond doing whatever they can to help others. No, I'm talking about the "dip your toes in" Christians. Not willing to be 'all in'. Skeptical. Enjoying the world way too much.That was me for too long. I often told others of my faith but my actions told differently. My swearing and gossiping didn't show evidence of time spent with God - quite the opposite. My relationships with women often entailed other agenda. Going out with my friends to a bar and drinking too much wasn't showing anyone my faith at all. It was the norm. I fit in rather nicely. The thing is - in my pursuit and your pursuit of Christ - the more we fit into the world, the less difference we'll make in the world. 

Following Christ comes with responsibility. We are called to make a difference. We are commanded to love others differently. If your love for others doesn't stick out, you're not doing it right. Our example of love, as believers, consists of the ultimate sacrifice, God sending His Son to die on a cross to save us from a life outside of eternity. The bar is set extremely high. Don't just do things to fit in. Let's point others to the one who loves us unconditionally.  What's your next move?