What would you think if you were on an airplane, only to hear over the speaker that your pilot hopes you enjoyed the flight, BUT he just wanted you to know he’s not sure how to land? You see, he never learned how.

Or what if you’re in a waiting room while your spouse or parent is having heart surgery, only to have a waiting room attendant ask you to be patient because the doctor doesn’t know how to perform the procedure? It seems he’s never operated on anyone before.

Claiming to be a surgeon or a pilot and not really being one is dangerous. You put others’ lives at risk. Why would you do such a thing? “Well, I can sort of do this job. Isn’t that good enough?” Who would do such a dangerous thing?

And yet some people claim to be Christians but don’t know God’s Word or Jesus Christ as their Savior. Or maybe they know just enough to make them dangerous. They know of Christianity but pick out what they want, leaving the “uncomfortable” parts behind.

Maybe that’s why some see “Christians” and don’t want anything to do with them. Because they see the dangerous ones – those who lash out, not love.

Please help us, Lord, to be Christ-like Christians who live and love like Your Son, Jesus Christ, and study Your Word.

If Jesus Christ were here, He would love others even when they fail or make a wrong decision. Of course, He wouldn’t sugarcoat sin and pat them on the back, but He would speak the truth in love and help them to turn around. Jesus would walk with them, never letting them believe they were not worth His time. He would love them in the middle of their best day ever and hit the floor with them when they collapse during the worst day of their lives.

Jesus would pray for them constantly, asking the Father to guide them, and He would provide for them when they were in need. He would come alongside them and comfort them when they hurt, crying with them because He understands their pain. He would never make fun of, criticize, ridicule, compare, gossip, or lash out at them as they try to get closer to the Father, and their attempts fall short of perfection.

Instead, Jesus would wipe the tears and dirt from their faces, kiss their scraped knees, take them by the hands and lift them up, and encourage them to keep going.

If only Jesus were here…

That’s just it. Jesus Christ IS here. He’s in every believer through His Holy Spirit. But if we deny Him or walk halfway with Him just to carry the Christian label, our dangerous actions may be enough to cause others to stumble and look elsewhere for a hand to lift them up – one that may lead them away from their Savior.

“If someone claims, ‘I know God,’ but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” 

1 John 2:4-6 NLT.

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” 

Matthew 7:21 NIV.

*The original version of this post written in 2017 appears on my website here: https://trainingforeternityblog.wordpress.com/…/a-dang…/

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