Are You Real?
“So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:10-11, NLT
I love to visit the state of Missouri. The nickname for Missouri is The “Show Me” State. There are several stories concerning the origin of the “show me” slogan. The most widely known story gives credit to Missouri’s U.S. Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver for coining the phrase in 1899. During a speech in Philadelphia, he said:
“I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.”
The phrase is now used to describe the character of Missourians – not gullible – but conservative and unwilling to believe without adequate evidence.
We are living in a time when a lost and dark world is no longer willing to just listen to the frothy eloquence from a Christian concerning their relationship to Christ. They have, for too long, heard all the church words and are now more needful of the “Show Me” proof of our Christianity. They are unwilling to believe without adequate evidence.
It is no longer adequate to just tell them about our Christianity. We must be able to “Show Them” our Christianity. In the earlier verses, Peter tells us what “these things” are that we must do to prove that our Christianity is real.
“……..Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.” 2 Peter 1:5-7, NLT
These are the things that people see in your life without you ever speaking one word. Before I was saved, I thought the hardest thing to do would be to walk down the isle of the church and get saved. However, the hardest part of Christianity is to live it for real every day, not just on Sunday.
If we, as Christians, are ever going to impact this world, our walk will have to match our talk.
Riley Pippen