Forget the "Act Right"

Matthew 9: 9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector's booth. "Follow me and be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.

Forget the "Act Right"!

So many people, Christians or not, have trouble understanding this. I recently had a conversation with someone who has been raised in church their whole life. They informed me that for the next 60 days they were going to try what they called "clean living" to see if anything changed. I asked them if they were just going to try to act right or if they were going to try a relationship with Jesus.

They were baffled, there was a difference, a separation? I went on to share this scripture and told them that if they just try to act right then they will end up bitter and resentful and it probably won't work. You see they wanted to set these super high goals that restricted the of things that they enjoy to see if that made them happier. That's a set up for failure.

Instead they need to be trying to build a relationship with Jesus, take their 60 days and talk to, listen to and let Jesus love them without worrying about what they are or are not doing. Or what Jesus might tell them they can or can't do. In the scripture (the Bible - our way of getting to know God, Jesus & the Holy Spirit) Jesus tells Matthew - a tax collector, who in biblical times meant a crook! - to follow him. That was it!! Jesus didn't tell Matthew  he had to quit robing people or that he had to sell everything and pay back all the people he took from. No, he simply said follow me, in other words be my friend.

When we form a friendship with Jesus we are getting to know him, through that we fall in love with him. Because of our loving Jesus and wanting to please him changes in our life do occur. That's why scripture says that we are known by our fruit - our actions. But NO WHERE in scripture does it say that we must act right to follow Jesus. Verse 11 -13 goes on to tell how the religious people were ticked off because Jesus was with people who didn't act right. Then Jesus responded to them by saying that he wasn't here for the people who think that they act right, but for the ones who now they don't.

So today & everyday after, FORGET THE ACT RIGHT!!! Just love Jesus!!

~Awaken Us~
Brenna Stanford