“Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.”

 –Romans 14:13-14

            I was talking to a friend yesterday and he reminded me of something that I hope to never do, although it is inevitable at some point in my ministry. He reminded me to never be that guy who tells other people, believers and non-believers, how to live their lives or to point out how they are living their lives in sin. If I have ever done that I apologize, that is never my intent. It does however make me think on how I am presenting the message of Christ to others. Am I presenting Christ in a way that shows His true nature, the gospel, or am I presenting His message in a way that makes others see only the law?

It is so easy for Christians, myself included, to start “shoulding” on themselves and others. We learn and see what God wants for our lives and because we believe it, we think that everyone around us needs to know the information that we have just learned or found out. We start telling people that they “should” act in a certain way or that they “should” stop doing this or that. We forget that people are at different stages of their journey than we are. And when those people are trying to understand what Christianity is all about or are new Christians our “shoulding” could be the difference between their growth and engagement, and turning them away from Christ. I pray that I am not a stumbling block to anyone’s faith around me, and hope that when I am a stumbling block, that stumbling block will turn into a stepping stone for me to learn from my mistake.

Question of the day: How are you presenting Christ’s message to others?

“A stepping stone can be a stumbling block if we can’t see it until after we have tripped over it.”

–Cullen Hightower