Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Be Diligent

Being a Christian isn't an easy thing to be - by any means.  With it comes responsibilities, persistence, mocking from others, etc.  So many people use the term Christian very loosely though.  It has basically just become a way to describe somebody belonging to a particular religious group.  In fact, most people don't realize that being a Christian means being a "Devout follower of Christ."  
Sometimes, however, I even find myself falling into the same category as the rest of the world - where I forget that Christianity is more than "just a title."  I have to remind myself that being a Christian takes dedication and action - not just verbal affirmation.  It's something that takes daily focus and diligence.  
Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:15 "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  But shun profane and idle babbling, for they will increase to more ungodliness."  
The word diligence means to pay close attention to something - it means to be earnest and persistent.   When you think of following Christ and His teachings, would you be able to say that you're diligent and persistent and earnest about it?  - Or do you just "give it your best shot?"  
If we're going to take on the responsibility of being a follower of Christ, we have to pay close attention to what that means and be diligent about applying it.  
Paul mentions "being ashamed" in that verse.  If we had to have a face to face conversation with God and he asked us to tell Him how we felt about our our work, would we be ashamed?   I think it would be hard not to feel a little bit of shame... 
The point is - being a follower of Christ and serving God require hard work.  But that's the responsibility we took on when we became a Christian.  We must be DILIGENT Christians.  We cannot be lazy.  Being a Christian isn't a one-step process or a one day event - it has to be a part of every day of our life.  
Let's be diligent about following Christ and serving God.  

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