Occasions for the Enemies to Blaspheme

 I heard a quote from C. S. Lewis the other day. I can't quote it exactly, but the gist of what he said was that Christians are the best evidence and the worst evidence for Christianity. When we do the right things and live like Jesus, we give great proof that Jesus is real. However, when Christians do terrible things, the world says that all this stuff about Jesus is just a myth, and it doesn't really amount to anything.

King David is a good example of this. He committed adultery, and then, he committed murder to try to cover up his adulterous relationship. God was very angry with him. (II Samuel 12:14) God told David that because of the deed he committed he had given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. Because of that, the child that was conceived would surely die. God was making sure David and others saw how much damage was caused by David's sins.

Of course, we see it all the time today. There are high profile Christians, who commit adultery. Then, the unbelievers have the ammunition to say that Christians are no different from anyone else. They say that Jesus doesn't really save people from their sins. He doesn't really change people. It is all just a scam. They spread it around to as many people as possible, because they are enemies of God.

The same is true of ordinary Christians. Other people are always watching us. They see us when we lie or steal. They hear our bad language and crude jokes. They see us having road rage and other fits of anger. All of these things and more cause them to blaspheme the name of Jesus and to be driven away from Him as Lord and Savior. Please, believe me. God gets just as angry at us today when we do these things as He got with David a long time ago. Let's be a good witness for Jesus instead.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read II Samuel 13-15.