Following GOD'S Path

I have been reminded lately of the importance of following God's path for my life and no one else's. We know that we are not to follow the stardards of the world and the things the world deems as important in life. As a Christian, our goals are entirely different from society's at large....we are not striving for wealth, or success, or power, or status as our main ambition. We seek to follow the Lord and His calling in our lives.

However, it is so easy to fall prey to following the Christian world's standards. There is tremendous pressure in some churches to get involved, and while getting involved is good to connect with other believers and build relationships and serve the body of Christ, we still must stay true to following God's specific call on our lives.

I am constantly bombarded with "opportunities" to teach kid's classes or VBS and attend a women's conference or dinner, a retreat, or biblestudy, or help with this or that outreach....truly it is a never-ending to do list. It can easily come across as categorizing someone as a lesser Christian, or selfish, if one doesn't do all those things. Yet I'm firmly of the belief that loving God with all of my heart and life is my main focus and that I must remain true to what HE has called me to do in my life. HE will put on my heart what and where and when He wants me to serve. He will open doors to the ministries and activities He wants me to enter into. I believe the pressure is just as great in the Christian world, even greater, for it is done in the name of Christ, to jump on the bandwagon, as it is in the secular world. But through it all I still believe I must remain true to what God is calling me to do and it may look very different from what everyone else is doing.

I don't think Christians should label or judge others by their involvement or service. I think how Christians live their lives is between each person and God. I heard someone recently tell me not to make my family an idol and thereby forgoe serving others. Well, as offended as I was by this allusion to my choices, I know that my family IS my ministry. There are other ways I serve as well, and they may not be widely publicized or well known, and that too is okay.

There is also a great deal of pressure to share Christ with others. I firmly believe in the great commission and know it is our main call as Christians. However, I think that if you love the Lord with all of your heart and life, with everything in you, His love will be evident in your life. You will not be able to NOT share Him with others. Other people that you spend more than a passing moment with should know that you are a Christian, it should be evident what you believe as people spend time with you. 

I know, as sure as I breathe, that God will open of doors of opportunity to share our faith with others and we must be faithful and eager to walk right in. That is exciting because you see God's hand in it...you see God Almighty working!!! and you get to be a part of it.

But to put pressure on people by constantly questioning, how many people have you led to Christ, or how many people have you shared the Gospel with this week? Have you invited your neighbors and co-workers to church? Well, I think it turns it not only into a contest, but it is taking salvation out of God's hands and trying to put it in our own.

If God wants me to share with my neighbor, then He will provide chance opportunities for us to meet and talk. I've seen Him do it!  If God wants Chad to invite a co-worker to church, He will open up a conversation. I've seen Him do it. We may, in fact, plant seeds everyday and yet not be the one to reap the harvest. It is all as God has planned. We are to obediently walk the path that He has given us, and to suggest that since we are not closing the deal we are not walking obediently, to me is heresy.

So....I choose to walk the path God has chosen for me. I choose to follow Christ. Despite pressure from the secular world and the Christian world alike, I will couragously walk in obedience to the life God has called me to. I will not succomb to the pressure to live how others deem worthy. I encourage you to do the same!