Making Religion Small

I've noticed that religion is getting a lot of play time lately.
It is big in the politics of those that are running for office. It plays big in the social issues of the day. It is big on social media feeds.
And in some ways, I suppose it should.

But I think that I am going to start making religion small -- at least for me.
I've noticed that religion has become more of a tool for manipulating others into a desired type of behavior than a means of bringing about a change in our own hearts and attitudes.

I am going to look for the little things that I can change in my own life and walk with Jesus so that I can become a better person -- more like Jesus.

A week after challenging a church to share the message -- God loves you and Jesus died for you! -- on a weekly basis, I have to admit my own failure. It wasn't as if I didn't have a couple of good conversations about Jesus and his teachings throughout the week; just no opportunities for that that exchange with an unbeliever.
I even had a couple of good conversations about what it is to be a follower of Jesus -- one with a believer and one with a non-believer.

In the past, I've mentioned that I am a poor ambassador for my Lord and Savior Jesus.
That needs to change.
If I am (we are) to be ambassadors for the Kingdom, then I (we) need to realize that I always have the role of representing the King. It has to be my full time vocation. Being His ambassador has to become who I am, not what I do.

When representing Jesus is what I do, it makes it too easy to just stop doing.
When representing Jesus is who I am, then I can only stop representing Jesus when I stop being.

I think that we (Christians) need to stop worrying about how other people practice our religion and only concern ourselves with how we live out our own faith.
I do believe that living out the Christian faith means telling others about Jesus.
I will continue to spread the message, "God loves you and Jesus died for you."
I will gladly teach what He taught (make disciples) so that others can grow to be more like Jesus.

But I will allow others to live out their faith as I work to live out my own.
My religion will be about how I follow Jesus and not about how others live.

In the grand scheme, that does make my religion seem small.
But in my little world, it has just become very big.
It has become everything!

John <><