Do you ever find yourself pretending to be someone you are not? It’s called peer pressure

At times I think all of us are influenced by others, for better or worse. In school we want to be accepted, so we easily go with the crowd. At work we can laugh at off-color jokes because we don’t want to seem like the odd ball. Even at church we can change how we talk and act to fit into the spiritual mold, hoping to be accepted more by fellow-believers…and even by God.

God has no peer pressure. Rather He invites us to encourage each other towards love and good works. God calls us to stop pretending, and act out our faith without caring what others may think of us. Read on…

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” Romans 12:9-10 NLT

In other words, it’s not enough to just sing on Sunday about how God loves the world, and then ignore the world during the week. It’s not enough to say we believe in evangelism, but rarely look for opportunities to share our faith. It’s not enough to consider ourselves mature disciples, but never get equipped to share our faith.

Real love moves us out of our own comfort

zone, and into God’s comfort zone.

Real love compels us to care, and to act with compassion towards those around us each day. We begin to see ourselves as missionaries with a mission. As ambassadors representing the King of the Universe. As servants obeying the Great Commission.

We decide to not let our fears rule us anymore. We decide to really care, instead of parroting other’s excuses. We decide to step out of our churches, and into the real world. Not just once, but daily. Not just now, but continually. Not just for a season, but for a lifetime.

When radical becomes ordinary, our fruitfulness for Jesus multiplies!

When our pretending stops, we see ourselves as God sees us… mature disciples of Jesus.