"I am a Christian!" ???

I am a Christian...

Are you? Really?

Acts 11:26 "...The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch."

They were called.... NOT they called themselves Christians.  Other people looked on in observance of their actions and of their words, and called them Christians, because they were indeed Christ-like.  

What do your actions and words say that you are?  What would others say about you?  Does it matter what others think? Or say about you?

I have maintained for many years, that I do not care what my neighbor thinks of me.  AND I will stand firm on this subject.

However, IF my neighbors were observing my actions and words, what would they say? Cause this is what God would say, and He is the one that matters.  His opinion is the one that counts in the end.  So from an outsider looking at you, what would they say?  

It's not that the one or any of my neighbor's opinion matters, it's the overall image that counts.  The image that you are Godly, or filled with Satan.  It comes out in the way you walk, the way you talk, the way that you hold yourself.  The things that you deem important, tell a whole lot about you and who truly resides in you. 

Do you leave your trashcan on the street for all to see all week long even though the trash man emptied it Monday?

Do you pick up the trash from the yard that fell out of your car when you brought the kids home from school?

Those limbs that fell out of the tree last Winter... are they still laying there?

Is your music loud enough to hear three doors down?

Do you wait for all of the leaves to fall, before you rake them up? What about your neighbors, do they?

I'm sure you know what the answers to these questions should be? But can you answer them truthfully in a Christ-like fashion?

When I hear others declaring, "I am a Christian" I tend to cringe, because I can't think of a time when I have had to declare this to the world.  Now don't get me wrong, if the circumstance warranted I would not hesitate to stand up for my Christianity... but I would much rather be judged by my actions, and have YOU call me a Christian.  

So... Who resides in you?