represent!

In french class today, we started a new unit on Patriotism, and we had to write a poem describing a country. Many of the groups picked Canada, but other places such as the Philippines, South Africa were picked as well. When doing something like this, usually stereotypes are used because thats what comes to mind.

Thinking about it and after hearing all the groups present, i thought, if someone were to write a poem like this describing Christianity, what would it be like?

Would it consist of good things? or bad things? I've heard many times, that our name as Christ followers and as "church" have been somewhat corrupted. People think the church is very strict and very condemning, exclusive and just not what it is supposed to be. I even remember inviting my friend to SNA one year, the outreach event at my fellowship and she immediately backed off saying "are you trying to convert me?". This is how we're represented as. And its completely wrong.

But the question is, how are YOU representing the church? Are you giving it a bad name? As Christians, we cannot be two faced. Saying we're Christians and then indulging in worldly things isn't representing Christ well.

I've heard from people that they feel more welcomed at school than church, and it breaks my heart to hear that, because we're supposed to be welcoming, not judging, but i think as Christians, especially after a while, we start to judge others because they we know the "rules" and the "standard", but many times we should be looking at ourselves, not others.

We need to represent Christ. We are the light of the world, for others to see. You cannot both be a follower of Christ and love the world. You have to pick one.

verse of the day: Matthew 5:14-16

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.