In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:6).
Its amazing what we learn about ourselves when we finally begin to gain true perspective in our lives. I didn’t grow up in a Christian home. While I was saved while I was 19 years old and while at college, the church I attended did not offer much in discipleship. Instead of seeking a church that did, I was content to approach my new-found faith based on what I thought it meant to be a Christian.
Believing what the world taught about faith and Christianity, I strove to keep my “church life” separate from my “school life” and “work life.” Without knowing it I had done the very thing that Jesus warns against: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24).
I know that one of the reasons that my walk with God has not always been where it should be is because I did believe that as a member of modern society, I had to keep my beliefs separate from work, school, and secular pursuits. Even as recent as a couple of years ago, I struggled with my Christian identity and faith while attending graduate school to work on a Ph.D. in U.S. History. At one point, I even had one of my instructors tell me that it would be extremely difficult for me to ever teach at a liberal arts college if I insisted on displaying my Christianity.
When the apostle Paul was on his various missionary journeys across the Mediterranean world, he would often follow up with churches that he had help start. These early churches did not have the benefit of having both Old and New Testaments to gain reassurance and instruction. They faced tremendous pressure to conform to the world around them – to worship pagan statues, to participate in state sanctioned appropriate activities and festivals to honor pagan gods. Paul’s advice to them was to be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:2).
The reason that so many Christians, myself included, have such a hard time in our walk with Christ is that we have been conformed to this world. We have been taught to regard our faith as something we do on Sunday and at the home. What Jesus calls us to do is far more radical – our faith should become the center of our life, not just some small and isolated component. We adopted the world’s view of Christianity under the misrepresentation that we should not judge but instead be compassionate and respectful of those who are different that we are.
What Jesus calls us to do is to allow our faith to shape who we are without any reservation. When we claim to be a follower of Christ but do not allow our faith to shape our daily lives, we become what Paul warns about: those who call themselves Christians and they profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate (Titus 1:16). In other words, to live a Christ-centered life means that we must also acknowledge him in all that we do. It should be evident from how we go from day to day, doing the things we normally do, that there has been a fundamental change in our lives.
