Tiptoeing Through Life

To walk through life stealthily or cautiously on your tiptoes. There is nothing wrong with being cautious...at times. There are times when Jesus disappeared in the crowd. But living life with those not yet following Jesus must done with complete visibility. We may not mind being real and visible with some but not necessarily with others. This is wrong. Jesus was the same with everyone. Some were encouraged and others outraged and demanded he change, leave or risk being treated as an outsider.

Galatians 2:11-14 Paul openly challenged Peter because Peter had been eating with outsiders when his religious peers were not present. When they showed up however, he stopped eating with them and began to withdraw from them. His fear of what they would think or say made him go back to where he was before the great adventure with those who had not seen Jesus in anyone's life. But it affected others who were on the team and they did the same.

Paul hammers this one. He says they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel and why should they try to get these people to become like their religious peers.

It is no different today. When you begin to live life intentionally with those not yet following Jesus there will be opposition from those who have no intention of being around outsiders except at a grocery store when they check out. You can plan on being accused of compromising or giving up the faith altogether. There are always many believers who do not plan on ever following Jesus into the marketplace of life.

We must be careful not to tiptoe into living life with people who can't figure life out but rather walk straight into it boldly. There is no other way for people to see who Jesus is if we only get our toes dirty. And forget about those who carry around religious check lists to make sure they do not cross the lines they have drawn that define following Jesus. If we walk honestly with Jesus, he will erase some of those lines and show us the ones that matter.

Focus Thought Live intentionally and courageously with those who are not yet following Jesus and forget about the labels religious people will give you.