Acts 27:25
Auditioned for Chapel Band with the 35ths today -
Matthew One-Man-Band Hou on the drums AND keyboard,
Jia on the bass,
Hyeon on the violin (yeah we have a violinist!!),
Alex on the guitar,
Roi, Nadine and I on the vocals.
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Some people look at image-conscious Christians and think it's against Christianity and knowing what's important. Not too long ago, some people would think about the word "Christian" and immediately picture unfit people who dress badly and behave socially awkwardly, etc.
Pastor Phil brought up an interesting point. We, as Christians, are ambassadors of God, and in no way should we represent him in a way that allows others to think negatively of Him, both in deeds / words and in how we present ourselves. He is a glorious God, one that can do anything, work miraculous deeds, do beautiful things, and you don't offer Him a blessing of a person who...isn't in touch with society. God is anything but dull. God can permeate the atmosphere, fill a building, impact people.
Of course the first criterion in his selection of who to use for His good work would be unshakeable faith and strength in Him, but think about it: who would God choose to represent Him in the world, the God who is mighty, glorious, powerful, wondrous and yet in every way relevant? A person whom others see as unable to be in touch with society, who doesn't really take care of her body and the way she presents and carries herself?
Or one who's in touch with trends and society in every way, who shows she's a person of the times, engaging and very well-liked and popular, yet very deeply grounded in her principles that are centered around God? A person whom others want to be able to dress like and be like in her personality, always fashionable and fun, yet firm in her beliefs? Who takes care of the way she presents herself, because she's representing God in all His goodness and glory?
To the Christians: When a non-Christian thinks about the word, about the 'religion', what kind of people do you want them to picture? What kind of person do you want to picture, to represent God and all his goodness and miracles and glory?
I want to picture someone beautiful - more necessarily in her aura than in her looks, able to carry herself with poise, very trendy, someone who smiles and laughs a lot, yet isn't superficial in her friendships; someone who's successful, who wins competitions and gets great job offers and has a glorious future ahead of her, a future God has planned out for her because she's able to bring glory to His name.
And she will, she will captivate people with her beauty and poise and bubbly yet sincere personality and aura and everything about her, and in everything bring praise to Him.
She's not a person who will never exist. She's a friend of mine, a friend I look up to a lot.
And about the health/fitness part, the body you possess also houses the Holy Spirit. This body we've been given is, like all other things, a gift from Him. Therefore we should take care of it, keep it healthy and fit, so that even in this way we can be an offering of praise unto Him, so that we can continue doing all He has set out for us. An unhealthy body, like anything else that doesn't create a good impression, isn't a good representative of anything we represent, really. The God we serve is an amazing, glorious, beautiful one, and that's how we should represent Him.
I mean, of course appearances aren't the most important thing, and should never be a major priority that becomes an obsession: what's more important than stuff like your dressing and health is how you carry yourself in other aspects, your actions and words and your attitude and heart, but I mean, everyone knows that, and that's not what this particular post is about. This post explores an issue that's more highly debated: appearances vs God.
I say, as long as everything you do is for the purpose of bringing God glory, it's right.
Our God is not one who's out of the times, who's irrelevant in our society, who's unable to advance himself together with us. God is very real in this world and not in any way dull. A life of God is an exciting, amazing life. Let's bring God into society in this way. Show the world how amazing a life in Him can be. And this God is a name we carry with ourselves. Let the way we carry ourselves be a song of praise unto Him.
...This is a post that could draw a lot of flak. I hope I presented this correctly. Hope I didn't accidentally suggest anything wrong.
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