The girls have a pretty wide array of toys. A few times we've taken them to the dollar store or Wal-Mart and let them pick a toy. Each time, though, they decided on one of those little hard plastic animals. Some sort of dinosaur, horse, or other common zoo animal. They like to play with their animals and don't mind that they have duplicates. That just means there's a family of horses or tigers.
A while ago they wanted to give Suzi a toy to put on her desk at work. One girl gave her a tiger and the other a lion. What really made it a special gift was what they said. They gave her the tiger and lion so that she can remember to be strong and brave. That'll preach.
One of my first lessons to a youth group was at a small church in Anderson, SC. I talked about 2 Timothy 1:7. It wasn't a great lesson, but those nice kids didn't know the difference. I remember saying that we shouldn't be scared to be Christians and do what's right. Missed the mark. Not being timid isn't the same as defending your Christianity.
Consider the lion and tiger. I don't equate timidity with an apex predator. Predator. There's a word we're not familiar with hearing in reference to God. Do you actively seek out opportunities to invade ungodliness? I don't. I'm more of a "wait til something happens to me" kind of guy and that just ain't right. We've been given the authority to offend and not back down. We've been blessed with power, love, and self discipline, but are we using it? I want to, but how?
I will pay my bills in person and be the best example of God's love that teller has seen all week.
I will discipline my children and train them according to the Bible.
I will love the unlikeable.
What are ways you plan to be an offensive Christian? Or do you prefer the phrase "predator of ungodliness?" Let me know in a comment so we can share the ideas.
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