We have all heard at one time or another, that not only are we to call ourselves Christians, but that we should be living our lives so that others, will see Christ when they encounter us. In Church we are told that we are the living face of Christ, but how many of us believe it. How many of us actually behave as if we believe this is true? Think of the last time you were stuck in traffic, behind the guy going twenty miles under the speed limit….Was it Christ he saw in his rear view mirror glaring at him and mumbling under his breath?? Or how about the rude cashier who acted like she was doing you a favor when she took your money from you? Did she recognize the Christ in you? Did she hear Christ’s words as you spoke to her? Nah, probably not...

Most of the time, we allow ourselves to become rude in the face of rudeness …we justify our behavior…’After all’…we tell ourselves… ‘we deserve more’….’we deserve better’… It’s the same lie that the devil whispered into Jesus’ ear in the desert. Trust me. It’s the same lie he’s whispering now.

We won’t be able to do it on our own. We’ve got to learn to lean on God, and trust Him for our inspiration in all things, after all we aren’t very inspiring on our on… we tend to be whiny…and selfish…Most of us don’t even think we have a problem. But we do. We wear our “I’m a perfect Christian” badges on Sunday…just long enough for everyone to see…but once we exit the Church…it’s all gloves are off... we’ve done our Christ…”We’re good enough” we tell ourselves. We allow our pride…our free will to become our gods…We figure, we don’t have to sacrifice if we don’t want to. After all, with our free will, we are free to choose…free to live exactly as we see fit.  The trouble with that is, as  a society we have become quite comfortable with ourselves..and our distorted view of what is right … .and what is wrong.

So many of us are in a hurry. And angry. All the time.  And despite years of living in the Faith, we don’t see how this anger and this rushing around, damages our souls. How it damages our families… Damages the love between husbands and wives. It creates a barrier between us and the God who made us. The God who loves us, more than the world.…Don’t you understand? God wants more from us, than our righteous prayers. He wants everything. All the time. He wants us to be His Light in the world. He wants us to be His face. His words…His arms and hands and feet. He wants us to be His sweat. He wants us to be His blood, coursing through the world and feeding the Church. Filling up oceans with Faith. So that others may walk upon those very waters and meet us…join us in the boat….becoming fishers of men, for Christ…He wants us to pray with our backs, when we labor, every ounce…every bit of strength. Our jobs should be our testament that there is a God….that there is a Christ…living among us…living in us. We should be giving glory to God  with our lives…our actions… not only our prayerful breaths. He wants us to pray ourselves out of our comfortable spot, until we are on the ground, on our knees, our bodies weak from work…. giving everything we have back to Him.  Emptying our very souls, so that He can fill us…with Himself….If you don’t believe me…read about the lives of saints….most of them emptied themselves and were filled with Christ….

We are created in the image and likeness of God. Thus, we are created in the image and likeness of greatness. Everyone of us. Each one of us has the potential to change the world. To be the spark that sets the world on fire. Christ’s fire. Everyone of us is called to do the Father’s Will. And that is a hard calling…we have to be humble…We have to get thrown off our high horse and remember that our rightful spot is at the feet of others…serving them, regardless of whether we feel like it or not…Only then will we shine…His Light will shine through us if we let it..if we move out of It’s way and submit ourselves to His Will, then others will be able to see Christ in us…And despite our failings, despite our lack of intellect…we will shine….and the Light of Christ will shine and our very lives will give glory to the One Who made us.  When you think abut it, that is all we should be striving for in this life really…Greatness for God’s sake….Greatness for God’s glory…in everything we do.