An Example

The cross is the greatest example of humility and devotion in the universe. Jesus put your needs ahead of His own. He considered you more valuable than Himself.  Chip Ingram

He that gives good advice, builds with one hand; he that gives good counsel and example, builds with both; but he that gives good admonition and bad example, builds with one hand and pulls down with the other.  Francis Bacon

Have you ever asked yourself what kind of example you show the world?  Many of us, including me, often play charades.  We pretend to be something we aren’t.  We become great actors and imitators.  If we think about it from Satan’s standpoint, he can’t wait for us to play charades.  It happens to all of us and he is cheering us on from the sidelines.  How many of us show the world a totally different picture from the one our family sees?  If our life isn’t an open book where anyone could read it and you wouldn’t be ashamed of what is in it, then we aren’t a good example for God.    

How do we become that person who gives good advice and lives it? The following are a few things to consider:

Give up on self.  Get rid of me in the equation because it isn’t all about me.  It’s about Him. It’s about being what God created us to be. 

Humble yourself.  One of the hardest things for me to learn was to be vulnerable and humble myself to others.  When you do this you can be rejected and who wants that?  When I finally learned to let others see the bad sides of me, I was free.  Finally free from the worry of wondering when someone would find out the mistakes I made.  It also taught me how to lean on God.  The first thing we should ever learn is that God is the One constant in our life.  He loves us, gave His Son for us and will not betray us.  It is freeing to know that God is always there; not just sometimes or when He feels like it. 

Speak God’s truth.  This one is tricky because we often have our own version of the truth don’t we.  Our version of the truth often isn’t the truth at all.  It is so easy to slip away from God’s truth and guess who is standing on the sidelines cheering us on.   

Study His Word.  Did you know that the weekend edition of the New York Times has as many words in it as the New Testament and there are a lot of people who will read that every weekend but have never read the New Testament? I am guilty of spending more time reading a magazine than I do my Bible.  It we are to learn God’s truth, we need to read it, study it, meditate on it and fill our very soul with it.

If we want to be a good example for Christ our lives will need to change and that is going to take work.  It is also a given that some people in your life are not going to like this change in you.  In some cases you will lose friends, family members and even jobs to follow Him.  It is going to mean letting go of pride, humbling ourselves to others, speaking God’s truth and living it.  When you are setting a good example you will be rewarded.  What example will you show the world?   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I confess that I am not always a good example in showing others You.  I fail over and over again.  I need Your help to overcome the many obstacles in my life that hinder my relationship with You.  I pray for the strength to put You first, humble myself, study Your Word and speak Your Truth.  I can do all things through You because You alone give me strength.  

Scripture: The Race of Faith

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:12

Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. 1 Timothy 4:12-16