Living by Example

"Dear brothers and sisters, what's the use of saying you have faith if you don't prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can't save anyone." James 3:14.
Faith that is only words can actually push people farther away from Jesus. When non-believers or new believers hear a person professing to being a Christian but not trusting in the Faith as a Believer they can get confused. So, just as we must prove our Faith by actions we must also prove we have turned from our sins and turned to God by how we live. "Prove by the way you live that you have really turned to God. Don't just say, 'We're safe - we're descendants of Abraham.' That proves nothing. God can change these stones into children of Abraham." Luke 3:8. And when John the Baptist said to prove, he was saying to be an example. If one minute you are saying you're a Christian and then the next minute you are slandering someone or one minute you are wearing a Got Jesus shirt and the next minute chugging a beer, the people around you are probably thinking...Why should I be a Christian when they act just like me. How many of you have heard someone say, 'I'm a Christian because my mom was a Christian (it is impossible to be saved by your mother's faith), or I was brought up in a church I just don't attend anymore (who's keeping you accountable to God), or I believe in Jesus (well so does Satan), or Jesus drank wine so I can drink too (yeah, but where does it say Jesus got drunk)? Where's the example that exudes your faith, your turn from sins, and your turning to God?
When I first returned to my faith in Jesus, I thought all it took was believing in Him, not a life changing alteration. I didn't think I had to change my ways because I knew that Jesus loved me just the way I was. But when I would try to tell people about my new faith I would get eye rolls, a change of subject, or just disbelief. I couldn't figure out why they didn't trust me or believe me; I couldn't figure out why no one was seeing Christ in me. "Well self," I should have said, "Look in the mirror! Are you being an example of what you say?" I wasn't. I wasn't living by example. I was still the same person they knew before, nothing had changed. I had just added Jesus to my life, not made Jesus my life.
When we are a new person in Christ our old ways will pass away, and we are different and everyone should be able to see it. We are to be an example of Jesus, we are to do as He did. "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this to much to ask? Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is." Romans 12:1-2. Are you ready to be new in Christ? Are you ready to be that light to the world, leading others to Christ instead of pushing them away? We already have the greatest example ever....Our Lord Jesus Christ!