Matthew 5:16

I saw it today on the road. Walking through town. It was the temporal image of the converse of Matthew 5:16.

Didn't that make sense to you?

Okay. Let me try to be a little more clear. What I saw today was a pair of maybe 12 year old girls, both quite overweight, both dressed like prostitutes, both with unkept hair and poor physical hygiene, both walking down a busy street in a questionable area of a biggish city, and I said to Chris, "Where are their parents? What kind of mom do they have?"

And that is exactly the reaction I DO NOT want people to have when they see my life and hear that I'm a Christian.

"Wow. What kind of God are you obeying? What kind of faith is that?"

Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men that they might see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven."

I was NOT praising the parenting of those little girls. I should be praying for them rather than my knee-jerk reaction to judge them. I understand that. But the point of the lesson to me is the same as I look at my life. Am I living in such a way that others glorify my Father in Heaven? Do I make God look good? Do I make Him more Glorious by my life, my attitude, my actions,....?

Lord, I do ask that you would give me the discipline and the grace to live in a way that shows what kind of Parent I have. Let it become clear that when I am a jerk, it is the rebellion in my own heart, not a short-coming of Yours. Forgive me for the times that I have given Christianity a bad reputation, and in turn, given You a bad name. I pray that in some way You would give me the chance to make up for that, and instead show the world (or at least the world immediately around me) that you are great and greatly to be praised. That You are good, and a joy to follow.

Give me a light to shine, and let me shine it like crazy.