Our World grows darker and darker each day from cancel-culture to Christians facing persecution in many different countries. The Bible warns us about times like these, but how are we supposed to be more like Jesus when we’re taking hit after hit? It feels as if we’re standing in a crowded room surrounded by people, but we still feel alone. Feeling like nothing will fill the void in our heart, but only God.
King David writes in Psalm 25:16, “Turn to me and be gracious to me, For I am lonely and afflicted.”
So obviously, we are called to ask for comfort from the only one who gives comfort. Yet, it gets so “exhausting” calling out to God amid all of the punches from the world. This causes our flesh to want to fight back, hold grudges, be judgmental and become bitter. How can we claim to be a Christian, but not follow the definition of Christianity: mirroring the belief, teachings and practices of Jesus.
I’m a people watcher. I watch their body language, words, actions and reactions. The older I get the more I find out about different people’s character. I’ve noticed that the worse the world gets over time, the more bitter Christians get. And the sad part is that we don’t even realize it. We use excuses like, “That’s just the way I am” or “You don’t even understand everything I’ve been through.” Sure, not everyone on the planet knows every single traumatic thing that’s happened to us, but do they really need to know that? We need to allow our past to be a part of God’s plan for us.
First impressions are everything. As soon as we lash out, say mean and hurtful things or even give an ugly look to someone, it’s game over. They’ll notice the cross around our neck, the “Jesus Saves” tattoo or the “WWJD” bracelet we wear so proudly. Then what? They say something about it and we act as the holiest Christian on the planet, praying that they’ve already gotten past that rude thing we said or did. How do we expect to win people over to Christ when we ourselves can’t even have a Jesus-centered heart? No one wants to join people who preach about how much Jesus loves everyone, but their actions don’t follow. It’s just not logical. So how can we as Christians become better brothers/sisters, sons/daughters, friends, boyfriends/girlfriends, coworkers, teammates, or any life position we hold?
The only one that can help us is Jesus Christ. As soon as we accept him, we give him our heart. He is the only one who can change us. He takes our hardened hearts and softens them for his Glory. There is no excuse as to why we mistreat people no matter what we’ve been through. God uses our past and turns it into a testimony. We often take advantage of how much he has done for us. His grace, love, and forgiveness surpasses our comprehension. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect, he expects us to try to become more like him each day. It’s so hard to do that when we let our flesh get in the way of our spirituality. But we have a job to do on this earth. As soon as we decided to put him in our lives, we signed a metaphorical contract to forever put him first and to follow his commands. This is what we signed up for.
Our perspective means everything. If we view this as a “I have to be nice because I chose to follow Jesus,” we will crumble and become bitter toward one another and God. We need to have the mindset of “Jesus has forgiven me time after time again and has shown me His grace and love even when I didn’t deserve it, so I’m choosing to show the world how great my God is by letting him use me for his honor and glory.” By just changing our mindset, we can start to be more like Jesus. We’ll begin to notice that it doesn’t feel like a chore to be kind, forgive or show grace. We’ll begin to want to do that because the Creator of the universe is at the forefront of our lives.
My roommate, freshman Elyse Ortega, shared something with me that blew my mind. She told me that in the Satanic Bible, there is a rule that they can only love the people who love them back. Jesus tells us to love everyone, but how many times do we only choose to love the people who love us back? With knowing the information I just gave, what does that say about us? We are literally going against everything we believe in when we only love the people who love us. Our love doesn’t even compare to Christ’s love for every single one of us. In a way, we have the most powerful love on the earth when Christ abides in us. We show his love when we love one another. Who doesn’t want to share that love to the world?
Living in this dark world is so difficult. Let’s be the light it needs. Do the little things like smiling at someone, thinking before we speak, being slow to anger and quick to forgive. It may change someone’s whole day or even life. Choose empathy, kindness, forgiveness and grace in a world full of negativity and destruction. Remember it’s not our doing, but the Maker’s because without him, we would be nothing. It’s with God sending his son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross for us to be able to do this. The least we can do is show the world the one we strive to be more like. Our generation has to be the change our world needs. It starts with us. It starts with you.
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