2005-07-06 - Live It or Don't Show It

Ah, Little League Baseball! Our 13-year old has been playing for the past nine years.

A recent game was disastrous for my son's team. Dropped balls, missed hits, bad throws - you name it, and it went wrong. The third base player made his third error of the game, and a grandfatherly person in front of us just burst out laughing and yelling, "look at that kid missed the ball and that one could not throw it!'

Needless to say, this mild-mannered, respected business person was boiling inside - to the point of being just about to blow my top. As I stood up to voice an opinion, my wife sensed my anger and nicely elbowed me back down into the bleacher.

The next ball was hit over our infielder's and outfielder's heads. The older gentleman hit his wife and burst out laughing again. He was pointing at various players that had missed the ball and yelling repeatedly, "he missed it!"

And then he stood up, and the back of his belt announced, "Jesus is Lord."

That did it for me. I would rather a pagan act as this gentleman acted, than a Christian. I am never surprised by the behavior of some people that are far from Christ. But to behave in a manner that could cause others to turn away from Christ raises the stakes.

So, I had to yell, "Would Jesus be laughing at these kids?" Thankfully the bleachers became silent, and nothing else was said.

Gandhi once was asked, "What is the biggest hindrance to Christianity in India?" He simply replied, "Other Christians."

For me, one of the worse sins I commit is to weaken the cause of Christ. For us to stop any advances that had been made by someone toward Christ must break God's heart. For us to slander the name of Christ must bring him great pains. After all, He did suffer for us. He did die for us a horrible death on an old wooden cross.

They will know us by our love.

John 13:35 (The Message) This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples--when they see the love you have for each other."

David Massey

david@cfdevotionals.org
http://www.cfdevotionals.org
http://www.e-devotionals.org