Just a thought.

I had the privilege of teaching/leading discussion in my Sunday school class this morning. Yes, we still have Sunday school, which I know is kind of "out of style", but honestly, it's the time on Sundays that I learn the most, mainly because it's geared directly to things happening to ME at my point in life. Anyway, we were talking about serving the Lord in our churches and the importance of that ministry. It went well, but it was pretty short (which I have noticed is very common when it's the 1st time you lead a bible study, class, etc.) so we started talking about other things. Eventually, I said something that I felt like God plopped right into my head, which is usually how it works. I said, "It's an awesome step in your spiritual maturity when you realize that people are no longer looking at the things that you aren't doing, but rather the things that you are doing."
Where did that come from?! God, that's where. At this point of my Christian walk, I have realized this statement. It's so true that as we mature as Christ's followers, we have to come to the realization that not committing the "big sins" is just not enough. Not committing adultery or not killing someone just isn't enough...even some non-believers abstain from those things for different reasons! We have to realize that our true witness for our Father are the things that we DO! It's no longer about the don'ts, but it's about the do's! Are we loving people like Christ loves us? Are we building real relationships with them, like Christ does for us? Are we being servants to them, just like Christ is for us? Are we more worried about other people's lives, rather than our own? THOSE are the things that will truly set us apart from other people and will make people wonder what we have dwelling inside of us, that they don't have.
So many times, growing up, we hear all of the things NOT to do...but the things that we are supposed to do sometimes get lost in the shuffle. God doesn't rank sin in our lives, so He tells us not to murder (Exodus 20:13) and He also tells us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). Isn't he just as displeased when we don't do something He tells us to do, as He is when we do something that He tells us not to do?