A Genuine Faith

In a Gallup poll, more than 80% of Americans identified themselves as Christian. When you see how society is going with abortion, gay marriage, legalizing drugs and so forth, you have to wonder how a nation with a supposed 80% Christian population can embrace these ideas and ideals.

Well, the answer is they can't. So, what's the reason behind that?

I can identify myself as just about anything, a chef, a pro baseball player or even the governor of New York. That doesn't mean, that I am what I say I am. How can you ascertain if I'm telling the truth? Well, the easiest way is to observe me and see if my life reflects my claim.

Christianity can be boiled down to two tenets; love God and love people (Matthew 22:36-40). Now, if someone is not living their life this way, you pretty much can be assured that they are not a Christian. John 13:35 gives another proof of being a Christian. Although, loving people is not the acid test, because I'm sure there are non-Christians that love people, but that is one of the tests of knowing a person could be a Christian. Loving each other is an essential, but without also loving God, one cannot be a Christian.

And how does loving God manifest itself in the life of a Christian? Well, we do the things God has set out for us in the Bible. Now, this is why most people cannot identify who is a true Christian because most people are not familiar with what God teaches in the Bible. To love God we have to be obedient. Let's face it. When a child truly expresses their love for their parents, they are "perfect". They clean their room. They do their homework. They get in by their curfew. They show their love by "listening" to what the parents say and then doing it. It's the exact same way with Christians. If we truly love God, we'll do what He says to do. We'll love people. We'll do good works like helping the poor. We'll take care of our brothers and sisters in Christ when they need help. We will pray. We'll look to God when making decisions. We'll be the best employee we possibly can be. We'll go above and beyond the call. We will just be perfect.

And when a Christian lives out their life according to God's plan, they will stand out from the crowd. They will have a light shined on them. People will start to wonder what is different about them. Then questions get asked and then the Gospel can be shared.

A genuine faith in God will show itself in a crowd. It will be life a big neon finger pointing to the person. Why? Because a Christian is DIFFERENT from the crowd.

So, although 80% of Americans identify themselves as Christian, you can see that the number of genuine Christians is probably much lower than that.

Is your faith genuine today? Are you different from the crowd around you? Take an objective look at yourself and your life. If you fall short, and who doesn't, ask God to make you genuine. Commit to being a genuine Christian by first and foremost, loving God and then letting that love of God manifest itself into loving those around you.

God bless you.

May God bless America.