[305 words]
To view some Christians, they live their lives like they are obsessed with pleasing God. They come to worship and every gathering of the church that they possibly can. They even come when they don’t feel all that well. It is as if they are compelled to come. They also volunteer and work every time a need arises in the church. What makes them that way? It is as if they are preoccupied with serving God and honoring Him. They even seem obligated to tell others about Jesus. Pleasing and honoring God is all they can think about. They literally act like God is in complete control of their lives.
To look at other Christians and their lack of attendance, service, and enthusiasm, one would get the idea that they feel that pleasing God is optional. Oh, they may try to do it at times, but those times seem few and far between. They come to worship when it suits them, volunteer when it’s convenient, and generally do as they please concerning the Lord and His church. It is almost as if they feel like pleasing God is an elective act. As a result, they rarely mention Jesus to others. They literally act like they are in control of God and only allow Him into their lives when they wish.
Christian, take a close look at your life and what all you do. Could it be labeled as one in which pleasing God appears to others as an obsession or option? “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).
Edd Sterchi
Broadway church of Christ
Campbellsville, KY