Today we decided to pull all the yard sale stuff out to organize it (seeing as how it was thrown together in the rain last week), throw out any moldy/ruined stuff, and simply air it all out since we had so much rain during our sale last week.
Since we were going to pull it all out anyway, we might as well put up a couple signs and see if we could sell anything at the same time. Last night I went ahead and made up some brownies so the girls could participate too. (They really feel like they are helping raise money for the adoption this way)
First let me just say that people simply don't pay attention to details around them (the huge adoption fundraiser/yard sale sign that almost everyone parked right in front of!) I'm talking a 3x5 HUGE sign, professionally made and loaned to us from friends at church. So up comes a nice looking lady, in what could be her Sunday clothes, after she parks right in front of the sign. She wonders around making small talk, asks if we are moving....uh, no, if you had read the sign you would know this is a fund raiser. I actually said...nicely..."we are raising money for our adoption of a little boy in Africa." She says, as she stands over the box of shoes, "oh...my church is taking shoes to South Africa..."
Um, WHAT?! Does she want to me to offer her the shoes to her?
I tell her that's nice and ask what church she goes to (since my church is also going to South Africa) Then, almost with her nose in the air, she walks off toward her car and just mentions she saw our sign after her "church" meeting and tells me to have a good day. She didn't buy a thing, (which is fine) and she didn't buy a brownie from my DD (which is also fine, she said she had just had breakfast); but I had the strangest feeling of being snubbed.
Now, mind you, I am comparing this lady to my mail lady who, when asked by little sis if she would like to buy a brownie for 50 cents, she said she would actually like to buy a brownie for $5.00 (hmmm, I think she read the sign.)
I am not trying to bad mouth church lady (can we just call her that for the sake of my point?), maybe she didn't need anything or like anything she saw at my little yard sale, maybe she doesn't like brownies. Maybe she gives tons of time and energy to her church mission trip to South Africa. But, for me, she represents so many of us (Christians) that are just simply lukewarm.
*This idea of lukewarm Christians is not new to me, but since a sermon in March at out church that you can watch here, it has stuck with me and followed me around a bit. (I read a blog just the other day that reminded me of it again!)*
I am by no means a perfect Christian, I have hot and cold days....just ask the lady I was not very nice to on the phone the other day :/ . But one of my new goals is to never catch myself being a "lukewarm Christian". I have bad days and stick my foot in my mouth, I sin like everyone else and need to ask for forgiveness.
What I want for myself, is to be passionate about Christ and how Christ called me to live the rest of the time. I don't want to be the church lady who is checking off the boxes in my Christian to do list and lose sight of things or people that God places in my path to either help or encourage.
I say this only because I HAVE BEEN THAT church lady. Oh yes, I am not proud of it, but now that I see it in others, it makes me sad. It makes me wonder, how many American Christians will be in the lukewarm category when Jesus returns?
What about you? Do you help when God places someone in your path, do you give an encouraging word? (Maybe I should have given that lady all the shoes for South Africa.) Are you passionate about Christ, and passionate about being a Christian, or are you worried people think you are "overboard" about Christ? Are you passionate about serving Him with your money?
Like I said, no intent to offend, the lady just rubbed me the wrong way and got my mind rolling.
Now, I want you to think.....
How can we not be lukewarm Christians?
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