There are an increasing number of bold Facebook posts and shares around these days, like Statement by a Young African Pastor Who Was Martyred. I’m sure you’ve either seen it on someone else’s Facebook status or posted it on your own. It’s the one that starts out:

I’m a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of His and I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. I’m done and finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals…

Great piece, but before you post it (or other pieces like it) be sure to ask yourself:

Does my Christian walk live up to my Facebook talk?

In other words, is it sloganeering? Posterizing? Aspiration? Or a genuine reflection of how I am living today?

Great story from Bill Drake about leading opening worship for a campus gathering at which Operation Mobilization’s George Verwer was speaking. Says Drake:

“I thought I might impress him by playing some of Keith Green’s music. As I left the piano, Verwer caught me in front of 3000 people by saying, “Young man, you probably ought not to be singing songs like that unless you’re prepared to back it up with your lifestyle.”
   To say the least, I was embarrassed and humbled. I liked singing about obedience and holiness, but until then it hadn’t crossed my mind that there is no true worship without obedience–which for a disciple of Jesus means being involved in His kingdom.”

So the next time we get ready to post a “fellowship of the unashamed” type status update, let’s ask ourselves, “Does this reflect my present actions as a disciple of Christ?” If not, perhaps we can take a few weeks/months/years to get our discipleship walks up to the maturity level of that kind of talk, and then we can cut and paste postings like that to our heart’s content.

Of course once our maturity reaches that kind of level, we may decide to make a different kind of status update–one where we humbly confess our sin and make our only boast in the Christ who forgives us, cleanses us, and empowers us to rise up renewed as just men and women:

⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.