Do I Really Believe What I Claim to Believe?

As a kid, I went along with the whole Santa thing until I was in sixth grade.  I said I believed.  I wrote letters to Santa.  I left out cookies and milk on Christmas eve.  We even watched Santa make his Christmas eve run on the local news station's weather radar.  I said I believed, because I thought the gifts would quit coming if I let known my suspicions that Santa was a made up tradition.

Looking at Christianity, I wonder if we do the same thing with the Bible.  We read.  We agree.  We say we believe, and we even go through the motions of doing church and saying grace, but when it comes to the tough stuff, do we believe enough to step out of our comfort zone and actually do what the Bible tells us to do?

For instance, in the Great Commission, Jesus tells us to go into all the world and make disciples.  Am I doing that?  Well, probably not, and that is bothering me.  Don't get me wrong, I don't feel like I am being called to the rain forest or to Africa, but still, there is a job to be done.  There are plenty of people right here in my own back yard that need to see, feel, and know the love of Jesus. Around half of the people in Tennessee do not consider themselves Christian...and that is the buckle of the Bible Belt. 

This year, I hope to live my life in a way that shows that I believe what I claim to believe.  My hope is to find a way to share Christ with others, whether it is by kindness, or taking time to listen, or even encouraging someone that is having a tough time.  I want to be more attentive to the people that God puts into my path, in hopes that He will use me to help make a difference in someone else's day.

Jennifer Meyers (C) 2010