Thursday, 23 February 2012
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Am I a Temptress?
By Amy at Make Me a MaryI don’t watch TV, I don’t read the paper, and I really don’t even read the news online—so I had no idea that it was Fat Tuesday until I looked on Facebook. Good thing Facebook is a great source of news and information.
The Baptists didn’t emphasize Lent when I was growing up—at least not in my hometown. But my Catholic friends gave up something for Lent each year, and it was usually something unpleasant and unappealing to a kid, like gum or candy. Every year I remember thinking, I’m sure glad I don’t have to do that.
Well, I’m giving up something for Lent this year, and just because I want to. I need a time of prayer and fasting.
But anyway, I saw a status update yesterday that said, “Since everyone else is attempting this ’40 days of no alcohol’, I’m tempted to try it too!”.
And I wondered, in this fallen world full of evil and temptation, Is there anything about my life that tempts others toward the things of God?
It’s an easy thing to do on a blog in the Christian blogosphere while you’re hiding behind a screen. But in real life, it’s a whole different story.
Like the other day, when a mom came over to pick up her son and asked me to keep an eye out for good rent houses around our neighborhood because they’re looking to move over here. I told her I would look around and let her know. I kept wanting to tell her I would pray but never did, because I know she’s not a Christian.
I’m such a wimp sometimes.
So I ask myself again: What about my life tempts others toward the things of God? Not just in my writing, but in my life.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16
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About the Author
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- From: makemeamary
- Name: makemeamary
- About Me: The title of this website was born out of a prayer I began to pray when I became widowed: "Lord, please help me love you more". Over time, I grew to deeply admire Mary Magdalene for the way she loved her Saviour and was completely sold out to Him, and my original prayer evolved into "Lord, make me a Mary." I long to be at the feet of Jesus, too, learning from Him and taking Him in. I also aspire to be like Mary the mother of Jesus, because she exemplifies a total trust in God and in His sovereign plan, even in the midst of frightening circumstances.
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Comments (5)
I do not know you, so I cannot necessarily talk about your life, but this is a good post. Scripture tells us to "always be ready to give an answer for the hope that you have." One preacher on speaking about this passage said, "Has anyone asked you about your hope? It is because you have hope in the same things everyone else does!"
Thank you for the reminder to let my life be Christ tangibly.
How would you tempt me back towards the (c)hristian god??? I cannot answer your question based upon physical appearance.
I think that a person has to be hearing the voice of God before he/she will be all that much "tempted." That doesn't mean that we shouldn't let the light of Christ shine through us. It just means that we should continue lifting Him up even though others have not come to the end of themselves yet and are not very interested. We can pray for opportunities to show His love that day when we wake up each morning.
I think we need to be very, very careful in the words we use to describe God and His workings towards man on Earth here. It is a very bad thing to use the language that the Bible uses to describe Satan's dealings to describe God.
God does not tempt anyone, either to sin, or to follow Him. He compels and urges and draws man to Himself.
The Love of Christ working in us should compel others to follow Christ.
There is very little "subtle" about the Lord's working. He is not a serpent waiting along the path to strike at someone from out of nowhere.
I think we need to be careful in sharing the gospel, since so many use fear as a tactic to gain others in their "Christian society." I was 35 when I came to Christ, and the years wasted by fundamentalist tactics in preying upon my fears for my so called "unsaved" children contributed to my bad health. Kindness, tenderness, true help, are wonderful, and you don't have to tell people you are praying for them just to stand on the street corner and pronounce your Christianity. Sometimes when I worked in hospice care I'd ask a patient if he/she was a religious person. That was pretty innocuous. From there, I could ask if they'd like me to pray for them. Another area that became very sore for me, and fortunately I've never had one experience with it since moving to the reformed church movement, was the way women would dress. I saw teens dressing in ways I'd never let my daughter leave the house, and when the teens were leaving for camp one summer, they announced a class they were giving to the teen boys on "averting their eyes." How ludicrous. Nothing was said about the way the girls were dressing, and it seemed common in almost every church I went to, like I say, until I left fundamentalism. Simply be a kind person to others and let your light shine through, and if the opportunity rises, then you can talk about prayer.