I'm an example?

I am an example.

Those words are honestly scary to me. The idea that someone looks at me as an example just does not make sense. You mean to tell me that a lying, thieving, adulterer is an example. A man who is fake more days than he is real is an example to someone. This blows my mind. I look to scripture and see that Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11 that people should follow his example as he follows the example of Christ. I so badly want to live that life but honestly I am a man who falls more than he stands up. BUT, maybe that is why people sometimes look at people as examples. They look to them because they have already been through it and have learned something along the way that maybe they need to learn.

Maybe the real reason that it scares me to be an example, and probably scares some other people in the world, is that we let our past weigh too much on who we are are currently. I think everyone in some way dislikes their past. Honestly it is hard to live in the present if we are so wrapped up in our past. Just look at Luke 9:62 “But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” This is when Jesus is talking about the cost of following him. He is talking to a man who would rather go back and do some things instead of following Christ. Our past really can hold us back and make us forget to look forward to where God is leading.

Now everyone is different and some people have some things in their past that honestly may be hard to overcome. But it is important to remember that our past is a part of who we are and who we have become in the Lord. Even some of the worst things from our past have been used to shape us and , mold us into the person God wants us to become in Him.

Also remember God can fully heal you and get rid of your past chains if you are willing to believe that he can do it. Paul writes in Philippians 3:13-14 “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” We must begin to strive ahead and forget what lies behind us. I have made lots of mistakes in life and continue to do so. I think it is also important to accept the fact that no matter who you are or what you have done you will always be an example to someone.

As I close this blog I want to close with one thought. We are going to be an example to someone whether we like it or not so we might as well embrace it in the same manner Paul did in 1 Corinthians.

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. Follow my EXAMPLE as I follow the EXAMPLE of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1

Love you all

Brent