The Relevant Christian

I've always been a girly-girl by nature.  Growing up my sister almost disowned me numerous times for the way I refused to go to Wal-Mart with her before re-applying my makeup.  Even at 10:00 at night.  (Sorry about that Alli)

Looking back at the person I was back there annoys me, so I can only imagine how much I must have driven my poor family up the wall.  Gratefully I have definitely outgrown that person today.  I do still like to get completely ready in the morning, including makeup, before leaving the house.  But I don't make it mandatory-meaning there are many mornings  I don't have time and leave anyways.  

However the past few weeks makeup of any kind has been a distant memory thanks to my reoccurring bout of pink eye. In both eyes.  

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Poor Bob.  I sympathize man, I sympathize.  

When I was younger (you know...the time most normal people get pink eye) I never got it.  But wait until my late 20's and bam.  I'm waiting for chicken pox to pop up any day now.

The doctor says it's thanks largely to major stress.  To which I respectfully reply, these painful antibiotic drops aren't calming me down any.  Going from the insanely itchy to oh hey the itching stopped because a knife just went into my eye hasn't exactly been relaxing.  Because of these delightful circumstances makeup has not even been an option, and I've been so miserable that I haven't even thought twice about how to work around the problem and put it on just long enough for this and then come straight home and wash it off asap.  Nope.  Not even a thought.  I've just been running around baby-faced thinking of all those celebrities who are "snapping selfies bare-faced" and hoping someone thinks I'm just trying to be as inspirational as those people.  
Um...yeah.  I meant to look like this....

It's given me plenty of time to think though-what are people thinking of me? What do they see when they see me? No not makeup or no makeup, not even showered or not showered.  Something much deeper than that.  

Am I living intentionally?  Purposefully?  Relevantly?

I am fully convinced that Christianity was meant for much more than a ticket to heaven.  Don't get me wrong-I'm grateful for that.  But I also believe it was meant to effect our day to to day life on this earth too.  I believe that He really does have a purpose for us, and that the only way this life is ever going to mean anything is if we walk in that purpose and fulfill our calling.  That's it.  That's all that's going to really matter.  

Christianity is described in Matthew 7:14 as "Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it".  
If small is the gate and narrow is the road for Christianity, then relevant Christianity must be a tight-rope.  
Fall to the left?  Carnality.  Worldliness.  How can we help them if we become like them?
Fall to the right?  Super-spirituality that nobody can understand let alone relate to.

We are called to be in this world and not of it and that's a difficult thing to do.  Be in the world "too much" and the world rubs off on us...so we are no different than the lost.  Be in the world "too little" and we are disobeying God's command and missing out on even a chance of being effective for His Kingdom.  

So how?  It will only be intentional.  I believe this is something that will never happen haphazardly.  It will happen on purpose, for a purpose every time.  

This week I've got some stressful things coming up---including the Mr. having to be out of town and me having to stay behind to begin packing up our home for the big move.  I'm tempted to let myself stress out and freak out and forget what I'm really doing here.  But instead, I think I'll get up a bit earlier to have some extra time in prayer just me and my Maker, and try my hand at the tight rope.

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Linking up with:  The Modest Mom, Sara, Nan, Hope in Every Season, Put a Bird on It, Anything Goes, Wildly Original, White Lights on Wednesday, Live, Laugh, Rowe