Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28:19 NKJV

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.   Ephesians 5:1 NKJV

Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall into our brother’s way.
Romans 14:13

Our first Scripture passage for today is also known as the Great Commission. Jesus was telling His disciples to go forth and make disciples of all nations. When we surrender to Christ and experience the peace and joy that comes from living a life in Him, we want to share that with others. If we obey the greatest commandments Jesus gave in Matthew 22:37-39 and love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind we naturally want to honor the second one by loving others as we love ourselves.

We don’t let people we love go to hell if we can help it. God created us to be in close fellowship with Him. This means we love Him with all we have. This means we obey His commands. This means we want to be the best we can be for Him. If this is the case, we naturally want others to come to Christ.

In order to do that we must imitate God. Jesus Christ came and lived on this earth fully man and fully God for 33 years to show us how to imitate God.

If we are not leading others to Christ, we are putting a stumbling block up for them. What do I mean by that? Well, whether you know it or not there are people watching you. There are people who know you spend Sunday morning in a church pew but will have a front row seat to the dirty joke telling at the office on Monday morning. There are people who know you claim to be a Christian but treat others like hell.

When we profess to be a Christian but look just like the rest of the world, we may be causing someone else to stumble. There are many people in this world who are lost and hurting. They are looking for someone to talk to and someone to guide them in a direction that will give them peace in their lives. Many people did not have the benefit of parents that took them to church on Sunday and encouraged them to read the Bible and pray. Many don’t know anything about the Savior we serve.

This is where we come in. There is a saying in church that says, “If we are going to talk the talk, we need to be walking the walk.” We can’t say we are a Christian and act like the rest of the world. It just doesn’t work that way. We must stand out. We must not be afraid to be different.

We must not only profess to be a Christian, but we must also live our lives in a way that shows we love the Lord and love others. If you say you love the Lord but live like the devil you aren’t fooling anyone but yourself.

God put us here to be in close fellowship with Him and to lead others to Christ. We are not here to decorate or warm a church pew. Anyone can do that. We are here to be children of God. We are here to show others the way to Him.

We can only do that if our walk lines up with our talk. Ask yourself today if your walk and talk are the same?

If they are not, you are hurting more than you are helping. And sadly, the person you are hurting the most is yourself. Turn to God today. Surrender to Him and be the beacon of light that leads others to Him.

Have a great day!