That was the title of Bro.Ray’s sermon today.  It was very, very good.   It was based on John 6: 60-69.  Interestingly enough, John 6:66 states From the time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.  We are to follow Jesus, but are we to follow other things, such as fads, “the in crowd”, etc?  I think we have all been guity of following things other than Jesus, so we would “fit in”.

Points from Bro.Ray’s Sermon: 1) We should talk about our faith; we should invite others to Christ, 2) We chould be living what we say; we should be faithful in the final days, 3) We should live so that others see our faithfulness in what we do.

Growing up, if it was Sunday or Wednesday, we went to church at my house.  It didn’t matter if we wanted to go or not, we went.  Even if our friends did not go, we did.  We had to practically be knocking on death’s door for us not to go to church.  When I was growing up, this was more or less a thorn in my side, because there were many other things I’d rather have done than be forced to go to church.  However, as I grew older, I watched my mother, who on any given Sunday definitely did not feel like going to church, yet went every Sunday.  As a matter of fact, she went to church on the Sunday before she went into the hospital and never made it out.

I, now, am very thankful that they instilled the importance of going to church into me.  Now, I WANT to go to church. I don’t like missing period. My parents were modeling a behavior that they wanted me to follow.  Merriam-Webster’s on-line dictionary defines a Role Model as ” a person whose behavior in a particular role is imitated by others”.  We all have role models and I want to be a good role model for my children.  We want our children to be influenced by a good role model and surrounded by those people as well.

However, what makes a good role model?  Is it someone we trust?  Is it a teacher?  Is it a doctor; a nurse?  Is it a Christian, whose past could be tarnished, but are currently leading a life, walking with God?  Everyone has a past that they wish wasn’t there.  For instance, my first marriage.  I have had many physical and mental scars from the 11-year relationship (we were married for 3). I found myself on the brink of an eating disorder, because I was never skinny enough for him. I found myself skipping out on church because he didn’t want to go; when I did go to church, I had to go a church of another denomination; he didn’t like my Baptist church, so therefore he wouldn’t go.  When the relationship got physical, I decided that I needed to end it.  Did I face scrutiny?  You bet I did.  My own father wouldn’t speak to me for about 2 months.  I finally got enough guts to tell him that there are far worse things in the world than being divorced. 

I still suffer emotionally from that first marriage.  It was an absolute awful experience.  Would I have stayed married to him to prevent people from thinking poorly of me for seeking a divorce?  I did it for a while, but when my physical health became threatened, I decided I needed to stand up and be strong and do what I felt was right.

God has blessed me with a second, wonderful husband, whom I love dearly.  I don’t know what in the world I would do without him.  He knows me inside and out.  He knows, and understands, the emotional distress I went through. And, he is patient with me when I still struggle with the emotional scars.  God has given me 2 beautiful children with this wonderful man.  We take our kids to church every Sunday and Wednesday that our work schedules allow us to.  Our children WANT to go to church.  It is such a blessing for me to hear them ask if it is time to go to church and for them to be upset if we aren’t having church. One thing that attratcted us to Second Baptist Church was the fact that it didn’t seem to matter to them if you were divorced.  The only thing that mattered was that you were in church and you were there to give glory to God.

All of that being said, does my past make me a poor role model for my children or anyone else? Does it make me incapable of leading someone to Christ? Does it make me unable to actively participate in church?  Some people may think so.  Here is the catch….I have asked for God’s forgiveness and my slate is clean.  Why should someone judge me for that?  I try very hard to be a good role model for my children, my spouse, my family, my friends, my colleagues, anyone I may come in contact with.  I do lack in witnessing every single time I should, but I pray that aspect improves with time.

So, in talking the talk and walking the walk, it simply boils down to we should practice what we preach.  And we should never judge someone for their past.  As the old saying goes, no one lives in a glass house.  We need to be living each day for our Lord, Jesus Christ; not living it for the person next door.

Dear God, Please help keep my eyes open, so that I may not judge a book by its cover.  Please help me to keep an open mind about someone’s past. Please surround me with people who desire to live their lives for you.  I praise you for all you have given me and my family.  In your precious name, Amen.