A few years ago, I strolled up to a door of a nearby house without a thought in my head, as I began to knock on the door I looked around to my see my door-knocking partner one house down. He had already knocked on the door and was passing along information about the upcoming gospel meeting. As the door opened I invited the resident to our meeting and heard the fateful words, “Sorry, I’m Baptist.” I gladly smiled, handed the resident some information and proceeded back to the road to walk to another house. As I told me friend the news, he smiled and told me he had gotten the same response. I asked what he said to the lady and his response was simple, “That’s OK, you can come too.”

How many times have we let our religion get in the way of truly seeking to understand the message of the Father and His Son?

If you have done any door-knocking you have heard them all…

“I’m Baptist.” “I’m Methodist.” “I’m Lutheran.” “I’m Presbyterian.” “I’m Episcopalian.” “I’m Mormon.” “I’m Catholic.” “I’m Pentecostal.” “I’m Church of Christ.” (yeah, I have heard that one too.) “I’m Community Church.” “I’m First Baptist.” “I’m ______________________.”

All of those labels and nothing about, “I’m with Jesus.”

I often wonder what Peter, James and John would say when asked with what religious group they identified. I have found a pretty close answer in Acts 4…

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”

(The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Ac 4:13). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.)

Did you read that? “And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” They knew that Peter and John were not educated at the greatest schools or the greatest secular teachers, but they realized they had been with Jesus.

Can people tell you have been with Jesus?

The labels of this world should mean nothing to us, instead our focus should be the label of “Christian.”

While the disciples of Christ were first called Christians in Antioch, the name with which their character was founded has become the focus of their lives. Even today, Christians are seeking the majesty of the Creator God and that, only that should be the continual goal of our lives. Being close to the Father is not a position to be won, but a life to behold.

Can those around us see that the religious labels of the day hold nothing to the power of the Almighty?

Our lives should not be a reflection of the building we attend, but the life we are following!

Just some thoughts,

Don’t miss the newsletter!

We don’t spam! Read more in our privacy policy

A Note to Our Visitors

This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with changes to European Union data protection law, for all members globally. We’ve also updated our Privacy Policy to give you more information about your rights and responsibilities with respect to your privacy and personal information. Please read this to review the updates about which cookies we use and what information we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated privacy policy.