Christianity Is Not A Popularity Contest

-
Recently God was reminding me of a conversation I had with Him years ago while living in Kenya. “Christianity is not a popularity contest.”  Those were the words that He spoke to me one evening as I tried to understand why I had not been invited to the farewell party.  Even though I had been in Kenya as an independent missionary (not with an official agency), several months prior I had been welcomed into a weekly worship gathering comprised of people from various mission’s agencies.  It was a God-send at the time as I was feeling lonely and isolated.  A typical worship night would begin with a game of volley ball followed by a very meaningful time of worship and prayer. 

After several months of attending this gathering, one of the single missionaries was returning to the U.S. and threw a party.  It seemed like everyone in the prayer group, including my house mate, was invited except me.  As I stewed over my hurt feelings that night, and some may say even rightly so, God made it clear that Christianity was not about being popular.  God was not going to allow me to wallow in a self-pity party.  Wanting to be liked is not bad in and of itself, but it should never be the thing that determines our self-worth.  God wasn’t going to allow me to go there.  He was reminding me that I was already loved and accepted and that following Jesus meant not always being liked by others; at times, not even by other Christians. 

Recently, my husband and I read a blog about how today’s young adults don’t like Christians. What was once popular is no longer the case. With increased hostility toward Christians, we more than ever need to have our eyes fixed on what is eternal, Christ and His purposes.  In 2 Corinthians 2:18 it says, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  The approval of man is temporary.

I am grateful for how God responded to me that evening.  He was reminding me of my standing in Him and in so doing to continue looking to the eternal and unseen.  In light of His eternal purposes and plans I was able to forgive and let it go and most importantly, continue to love as He had called me to love my brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Jesus in Matthew 6 tells His disciples to pray to God in secret and not pray  in the open to be praised by man.  Those who look to the things that are seen have their reward in this life only.  Our reward is in heaven.  We don’t need the praise or approval of men.  Christianity is not about others noticing us.  Because our value is in being loved by God, fully accepted through the blood of Christ, and completely loved and accepted by God, we are free to live to please our Father in Heaven, who will one day reward us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Did You Know You Are God's Gardener?

-
Image
What does it take to be a good gardener?  I learned gardening from my mom.  From my earliest age I can remember mom's luscious vegetable garden.  But what was really impressive was her rose garden.  Both these took constant care and cultivating. Before planting, the ground had to have all weeds pulled, then the ground had to be tilled.  Next the seed had to be placed just so far into the ground and far enough apart from each other so that they would grow properly.   Next came the watering, which had to be done almost daily for the first few weeks after planting the seeds.  As the seeds began to sprout, they needed the right amount of sunshine and water, careful not to overwater them. A good gardener has two main qualities time and patience.  Time, because he or she has to wait for the seed to take root and then actually sprout life.  But mostly a good gardener is patient.  They wait and wait and wait until the seed brings forth life.  Then the work of cultivating those young plants
Read more

Jody Returns to Kenya!

-
Image
Hello Friends!  Jody is returning to Kenya in November and Christy will be continuing the ministry in Ohio.  Here are Jody's thoughts.... Dear friends, On November 13 th  I will be journeying back to Kenya, Africa. You may be asking, “Why now?” or “Aren’t you afraid?” I’ve received hundreds of these questions over the last two weeks. “Why now?”   It is time to continue the work. I talked to one of our precious African daughters last month.  She told me what she was learning in school and how she was growing in her faith. I have watched her and our other girls grow from struggling orphans to beautiful butterflies ready to spread their wings. My goal is to train them up in such a way that they will have confidence to teach and mentor others. They will become the women of Kenya and future leaders of the ministry. They will teach other women how to live in the joy and freedom of Christ. This trip, it will be summertime in Kenya. I will have more time to spend with t
Read more

Dancing with Granny and Chasing Bats

-
Image
Hey Friends, after finishing our summer program with the soccer team in Kibera, we had Vacation Bible school with our neighbor's nephews and nieces. From left: Philis, Moody, Evans (in the back), Benjamin, and Dennis (Esther & Eva not shown) We met for two hours every day to teach the children about their foundation in Christ.  They asked some amazing questions.   Here are some of them: Philis: Does God love people who do witchcraft? Eva: Why did Jesus come as the Good Shepherd instead of a general or a manager? Esther: In Genesis 4 God says, “Let us make man in our own image.”  Who is “our” referring to? Our friend, Samuel, came to share his story of growing up an MK in South Africa.  The children laughed a lot especially when he shared how he thought he was African until he saw an Asian image starring back at him in the mirror. We always ended our time together by  sharing a cup of tea and cookies. Mealtimes symbolize forgiveness and reconcilia
Read more