the choice to remain

sometimes we get the idea that we are supposed to attain holiness and purity before approaching God. dennae had a good point when she mentioned those come from the intense love affair between God and man. if we attempt to get there on our own, we will always fail.

the seperation between our lives and sin will make a marked difference in how the world treats us. unfortunately, those critical, cynical or jealous christians will upgrade their rhetoric and their cruel words. we are to be in the world, not of it. we are supposed to be bright beacons of holiness and love in the darkness of sin. the only way to accomplish this is to go outside the four walls of the church out where the lost are. because they believe that they have to "clean up" before they can come in.

paul wrote that he became all things to all people so that by all means, he might win some. that doesn't mean stooping to acts of sin in order to gain the attention of some. paul also wrote in romans that simply because God's grace is abundant it is foolishness to continue sinning in order to get more grace.

like dennae posted, holiness and purity are the overflow from the intense love affair between God and man. if those are not evident in our lives, it begs the question why not? it must be because we have let our passions cool. the once vivid flames are now embers. the fire is still there, it just needs to be stirred up and new wood must be added to rekindle the flames. the question is are we going to choose to remain?

the reasons for the flames going out are as numerous as the number of christians. we all have different backgrounds, different histories, different things affecting us that can put a strain on how we live our lives. even fear of man's opinions contributes to this. but there is a choice to be made. will we choose to remain?

at the first college i went to, i used to hang out with a large group of smokers. i have never lit up once, never wanted to. my grandfather died from lung cancer. after a month of just standing outside with them as the puffed away, they began to ask me why i stood out there and endured the elements while they smoked. so, i began to witness to them. a few actually were saved and quit smoking. others were simply impressed that i was a christian and i wasn't shunning them.

a few of my christian friends pulled me aside one day after a class and told me that if i continued to hang out with smokers then people would assume that i was a smoker too and that i was backsliding and that i could be a bad example- giving christianity a bad name.

after evaluating my motives and searching my heart, i gave them an answer the next day. i invited them to come hang out with me as i witnessed to the smoking community. suffice it to say that no one came, but i was not worried.

if we choose to remain in our passionate pursuit of God we risk be accused of living the same type of lives as the people we are among by the very people we should be supported by. even Jesus was called a drunk and a consorter because of His choice to be out among the outcasts. you don't have to do what they do in order to be labeled.

will we cast off man's opinions and choose to remain?

for the world-wide renown of His sovereign glory...