If you claim to be a Christian, then that means you believe in and are seeking to live by God's word. In Psalm 119:10-11, David writes; "I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Have you ever heard a Christian mention the "fruits of the spirit"? If you don't know what these are, essentially they're attributes of a healthy Christian. In my personal opinion, they're a pretty obvious way to evaluate how a person's spiritual health is. Galatians 5:22-23 says; "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."
I remember growing up my mom and I would grocery shop at Walmart (circa 1990s - before self-checkouts) and we would get stuck in long lines waiting for a cashier. My mom would always say something along the lines of "Looks like God's teaching us patience today". Little did I understand at that time that my mom was referencing a fruit of the spirit. God never puts us in a situation so that we will fail, however, He does allow us to endure hardship so that we can walk out and prove our faith. When you go to the gym and bench-press 145lb, the goal isn't to stay there - it's to increase the resistance weight each time you go back so that you become stronger. God allows us to meet resistance in this same manner.
Flashback to growing up, I played a ton of video games, however, one in particular comes to mind; Tony Hawk Pro Skater (Nintendo 64). This game introduces you to a world in which you're attempting to become a professional skateboarder. Some of the skills in this game were "air, speed, balance, landing...". Once you completed a challenge successfully, your skills were increased. Now that I'm older, I look back at this concept and see it as a parable. God allows you to be challenged so that you can practice your faith and achieve a new level of understanding and skillset. So today, this is your challenge: The next time you find yourself getting cut off on the highway, waiting in a long line, angry, or anything of the sort...look back to the fruits of the spirit and be willing to be challenged and grow. When people see me, I want them to see a professional Christian who has been tested and worked to achieve a high skill set. Quit being a rookie. Others are relying on you to step up and be an example of Christ.
-Sidebar, President
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