Reputation

How many of us had our parents say, "Remember who you are" as you left the house? Reputation is a big thing. We all want to be known for doing great things. I don't think any of us want to be known for always making mistakes or for always coming in last place. We want to do great things.

Christians are no different. How many of us want to do big things for the Kingdom of God? How many of us are okay if we are known to only serve ourselves and the things that are inwardly focused? How many of us praise God on Sunday, but live differently the rest of the week? I don't think many of us want to be known as people who only did things that made themselves feel good and only served out of guilt instead of a deeper desire to fully embrace the life that God wants us to have. But how many of us do the later instead of the former?

A lot of people look at my life and say that I am inspirational or radical or that they look up to me. I am going to be pretty honest here, I don't feel like any of those things and believe me, no one should ever look up to me. When I read about the disciples who dropped their nets and followed Jesus without saying goodbye to their family, that is radical. When I read about the many times Paul was imprisoned for sharing the gospel, and yet still praised God because of it, I see someone who is radical. The truth is, I am human. I mess up. I sin. I am not inspirational. At the end of the day, I pray that I am obedient to what God calls me to do. I pray that I embrace the story that God has written for me, not because I want to be known as great, but because I want others to know the Great I AM. That my friends is not radical, it is being obedient to what God calls us to do. He wants us to reach out to the poor, the widow, the orphan. He wants us to serve our neighbor, and love them no matter what their life looks like. "Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40). Loving others is how God wants us to live. It is the reputation He wants us to have.

I saw a picture last week that hurt my heart. This photo was a map of the world and instead of the name of each country, it contained the countries reputation.

 

If you zoom in and see Lesotho, there is one word...MORTALITY. Lesotho is known for death. Lesotho is known for people living short lives. Extreme poverty paired with extreme disease is the reputation of Lesotho. My heart sank. Yes Lesotho does have those and thus is full of morality, but to me Lesotho has so much more. Lesotho has people who will kill their best animal for dinner, knowing someone special is coming to their house. Lesotho is full of people who embrace the life God has for them and live it with joy and celebration. Lesotho is full of children who want what every child wants, to play, have fun and be loved.

 

When we see ourselves as the world sees us, it can be very eye opening. To live your life with the world's reputation is hard. I don't want to be known as someone who is on stage speaking and raising money. I want to be known as a child of the King of kings who was obedient to Him. After a presentation, I don't want others to remember me, but to instead walk away knowing they were in the presence of God. I desire to know Him more, so that He can be more fully known.

 

So many of us (me included) measure ourselves, our worth and our reputation against someone else. We desire the life someone else has, the things they have, the family they have. We measure our self worth against the human flesh. I am so guilty of this!!! As David Platt said, "We need to return with urgency to a biblical gospel, because the cost of not doing so is great for our lives, our families, our churches and the world around us." If we continue to measure ourselves against others, instead of what the gospel says, we will never measure up. We will always think our lives are not worthy of doing anything great. But if we look at our life purely based upon the Word of God, we will see that the Great I AM calls us HIS. If Lesotho only looks at what the world thinks of them, they will only see morality. But if they see themselves as God sees them, they will see life.

 

Friends, I want you all to know, that I desire to do the will of God. I want to be known as His. I want my reputation to become invisible so that He can become the most visible thing ever. Please join me in prayer for our hearts to align with God's heart and then act on what He asks you to do. Please join me in praying that we as His children will only base our reputation on what He thinks of us.

 

If any of you are reading this and want to know more about the Great I AM and the plan and purpose He has for your life, please email me at christina.terpstra@gmail.com.