As I have been working through the confrontation of Paul to Peter in Galatians 2:11-14 this question has been getting at my soul, "Does the testimony of your life look like the message of your lips?" This, of course, is in reference to the gospel. Thus far in Galatians Paul has been proving his divinely appointed apostleship so that the gospel that he preaches would be seen as from God, not man. The sake of people's souls are at stake for Paul and he wants to make sure the Galatians know that the gospel he proclaims is right and must be trusted. So I am praying that God would grant me the grace to live a life that matches the truth of the gospel that I proclaim. How different, I think, the church would look and act if it seriously examined herself next to this question.
What are some ways the people of God should be/act if our lives are to match our gospel?
2 comments:
A good example... my life as a minister's kid. I did all that was required of me to make my father's ministry appear to be a successful one. What I never did was truly believe that God loved me or that the gift of his son was something worth falling at his feet and spending the rest of my life thanking him and praising him for a love that as a human I can never fully understand. My lips always said the right things on the right days at the right times, but only then and never when it truly mattered.
Fast forward to the moment I learned that God's grace is real and walking in that grace everyday of my life is not only wonderful but very powerful. To know that I was once a means of lies and deceit, but by his grace he gives me the words that bring life to those who would otherwise not stop to listen is amazing. To be used as an instrument for spreading the good news of Christ Jesus and his sacrifice to anyone who asks is a privilege that I feel unworthy of everyday; but so thankful that I get the chance to do so. Regardless of your testimony or history grace is something that we all can walk in and should share.
This is an awesome question and I too pray that the word of God shows in my life and in my speech.
@zachgonzales
Thank you for posting. I've been thinking through this all week. It's truly amazing that once we realize the realness of God's grace that truly should/does change the way we live. And I think I am thinking of the way we live in and with the grace we proclaim. Thanks!
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