Good morning! When I was growing up, we hated drinking any kind of concoction that was made by our Dad. When we would go to grandma’s house (Dad’s mom), I remember her always having the sweetest iced tea in the refrigerator. It wasn’t anything special, being that it was just a powder mix, but grandma knew how to make it right.
I’m sure you have heard the saying, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Normally, it is meant to describe how we end up being a lot like our parents – but in this case, I do not know where my Dad came from LOL!
My Dad is such a unique character, and I think that’s why we love him the most! He is himself (no matter how embarrassing he is to the rest of us) and he doesn’t seem to care what anybody thinks! This truly is admirable – except for when it comes to being his child and expecting his Mom’s iced tea and you get something totally different!
When Dad made a mixture (that’s putting it nicely), it was disgusting (again, that’s putting it nicely). He would take a half gallon container and put maybe a scoop of iced tea mix, add in some cranberry-apple juice – which itself had already been watered down – and by the time you pour what your expecting to be iced tea, you get watered down nastiness LOL! It was terrible!
I often wonder if my Dad enjoyed drinking his science experiments or if he just enjoyed watching us suffer through the first sip?! When I go into the fridge and see a bottle of apple juice, I expect it to taste like apple juice, or iced tea to taste like iced tea; and if it doesn’t I’m disappointed. Not only that, but next time I am going to give it a little sniff, pour a little into the cup and maybe taste test it, unless I’m so put off by my first experience that I would rather just have water because I know you can’t mess with water.
When people look at our lives and see the label – our declaration of belonging to Jesus, does the output of our lives line up with the truth in God’s Word? People are looking for people who are true to what they say, they are looking for the real thing! They don’t have time for people who claim to be one thing and completely act like something different.
I was having a conversation with someone the other day and he was telling me how much respect he had for someone else that we both know very well. He said, “He always does what he says he is going to do.” Basically, this person is true to their word. If he asks him to hang out and he says he can’t, it’s OK. He would rather be told the truth and know what to expect, than to be told yes and then the person bails at the last minute or just never shows up.
Is your life telling the same story as your words or your social media? I’m not talking about going to church one day a week to check it off the list, I’m talking about are you allowing God’s Word to transform every area of your life and trying your best (with God’s help) to live as a great representation of Jesus Christ?!
“Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”
1 John 2:4-6
When we claim to “know” God, do we have a close, personal relationship with Him, or do we just know about Him? There is a BIG difference here. It takes a close, personal relationship with Him to allow the Holy Spirit to make God’s love complete in us! In the way that we love God and the way that we love others – we can only display a perfect love, if we know a perfect love; GOD IS LOVE!
Listen, we are not always going to get it right; but without Jesus, we WILL NEVER get it right! The Holy Spirit teaches us how to understand and apply God’s love in all situations.
If we claim to be a Christian, and our lives do not exemplify Jesus, we are lying to ourselves and others. When people don’t see that our behaviors line up with the life we proclaim (follower of Jesus), we will lose any or all influence for the gospel. Let’s do our best – with the help of the Holy Spirit – to live a life worthy of who we proclaim – JESUS!
Heavenly Father, thank You for the way that You teach us more about You through every circumstance in our lives. Thank You Jesus, for setting the perfect example of how to live in this world in a way that honors the Father! Holy Spirit, help us to yield ourselves to You as You teach us what it looks like to live like Jesus! In Jesus Name – AMEN!
Be Transformed 