You'll Know Them By the Struggle
Just as we take the long way around a puddle in our path, we shrink back from looking too closely at some bits of truth.
We don't want to be harsh, or judgmental. We look at our own lives and admit that we struggle and don't always succeed in being all that God meant us to be. How can we point a finger when doing so means there are several pointing right back at us?
All truth needs to be walked through, not walked around.
"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" —Luke 6:45.
Just prior to this verse comes another, reminding us that a good tree doesn't produce bad fruit.
The lesson? If the man acts consistently like a pagan, that's what he is—a pagan. Harsh? Yes. But truth is like that. A Christ-follower will struggle, but therein lies the key: He struggles. He may not always succeed in being Christ-like, but with all his heart he fights his way toward that goal. He is rebuked and repentant when he slips, but never content to remain at a distance from the God He loves. With the Spirit of God living within him, how could he do otherwise?
We don't want to be harsh, or judgmental. We look at our own lives and admit that we struggle and don't always succeed in being all that God meant us to be. How can we point a finger when doing so means there are several pointing right back at us?
All truth needs to be walked through, not walked around.
"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" —Luke 6:45.
Just prior to this verse comes another, reminding us that a good tree doesn't produce bad fruit.
The lesson? If the man acts consistently like a pagan, that's what he is—a pagan. Harsh? Yes. But truth is like that. A Christ-follower will struggle, but therein lies the key: He struggles. He may not always succeed in being Christ-like, but with all his heart he fights his way toward that goal. He is rebuked and repentant when he slips, but never content to remain at a distance from the God He loves. With the Spirit of God living within him, how could he do otherwise?
Wise words - as usual. This is DEFINITELY a great way to recognize a Christ-follower - and I'd never thought of it quite that way before.
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