What Do You Look Like
Posted by Ryan Geiger on February 11, 2010 · 4 Comments
My kids have begun to watch some of the movies that I grew up with. One of their favorite series to watch now is Rocky. Tonight we were watching Rocky 4 where he fights the “big Russian” and right before he goes out to fight he is kneeling and praying in the bathroom. Right then my son said, “I didn’t know Rocky was a Christian.”
Made me think. What does a “Christian” look like? How can you tell without someone telling you they are?
- Is it the music they listen to?
- Is it the clothes they wear? Maybe a WWJD bracelet?
- Is it the fact they have a Jesus fish on the back of their car?
- Do they say amen a lot? Maybe they say brother and sister with every sentence?
- Do they raise their hands while they pray publicly in restaurants?
How can you tell someone is a Christ Follower and not someone who is simply religious and going through the motions?
I think you can tell someone is a Christ Follower by what they find important. By how willing they are to love others unconditionally. By how they serve others without expecting anything in return. By how they share their story with others. By how they get convicted of sin.
John 13:35 says, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
As I write this I don’t think there is any one way to tell if someone is a Christ Follower because I don’t know if there is any one way to love.
What is your thoughts on this?
It’s about what takes place in someone’s heart & we can’t always truly see that. Some people learn to speak Christianese. I have met people who have accepted & even testify to God’s love & power & yet they have been some of the angriest or miserable Christians that I have met. And yet I may see them in heaven because of what did take place in their heart. The loving person that learned Christianese, I may not see in heaven.
I often wonder what people think of me as a Christian. Am I living it out the right way. Too often, I know that I’m not, but I try to keep letting God work on me & remember that I am a work in progress.
I’m going to be posting on angry “christians” next week. I think this is a very difficult topic because none of us really look like Christ.
If you need illustrations, unfortunately, I could give you plenty of material on myself from over the years, but you’re right it is a difficult topic because no one wants to hold that mirror up to them myself.
Accurate typo on the end…I don’t like holding the mirror up to myself but I meant “their self.”