“…some live as if the price they were bought with wasn’t a major sacrifice. Do you know what the Bible says about Christians who live in the flesh and think they are saved?”
(Clint Archer – The Cripplegate) The first time I went snowboarding was also only the second time I had ever seen snow. I was truly excited. The invitation to go was easy to accept and sourcing some equipment proved easy enough. The atmosphere among friends was electric. Even the lessons in the basic technique seemed straightforward enough; I’d dabbled in skateboarding in a former life.
But once I was on the ski lift I realized how deceptively high the looming mountain was and how relentlessly steep the daunting slope appeared. There is no way down except …down. Snow is colder and wetter and harder than I had imagined it being. This fun now seemed dangerous. I was committed, and so I slid off the lift and made an uncontrolled beeline toward a bevvy of girls who had no idea that this clumsy South African wrecking ball was about to ruin their day.
The moral of that unfortunate life lesson: you might embrace the image of being a skier, you might look the part—kitted out in all the right gear—you might even master the lingo, but you are not a skier until you actually ski!
Many people talk the talk of being a Christian, but they don’t walk the walk.
They visit Christ, but they don’t follow him. They can hold a conversation in fluent Christianese, their church attendance record is impeccable, they eagerly share prayer requests and even sometimes get teary when they sing. But after visiting hours are over, they slink easily back to their natural abode and return to behaving, talking, and thinking like unbelievers.
As we start this new year, let each of us examine ourselves in the light of Colossians 2:6.
Colossians 2:6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.