My son-in-law, who recently returned home from a foray out west, shared pictures of some of the high-level cloud heads that they had to fly around.
As a fan of weather, nature and, well, anything outdoors, I was fascinated by these images. The magnificent beauty, the serenity of billowing white clouds, all from a little over 35,000 feet up.
Then you see the pictures from the storm's underbelly: lightning, high winds, trash being blown around, and torrential rainfall that washes away the land many times instead of healing it.
Beauty and beast wrapped in one.
My friend, I see many people who profess a relationship with God, and what I get to see on the outside is beautiful.
What I do not see under those white clouds are these people's true actions; the words that come from mouths that are detrimental to others; the habits and lifestyles that may not be as they seem from my point of view.
Perhaps life is not so sweet amid the storm we call life. Many are deceived by these clouds of indifference for their own brothers and sisters in the Lord. Allow me to speak to the heart of those who are genuine in their love for God, but misled in their activities.
Loved one, listen to me. Sometimes, we need to step back and look at the example by which we are leading others. Often, we do not realize the harm and confusion we are doing to others in our family, friends, and others that are looking to us for guidance in the search for eternity through Jesus the Christ.
Paul said in Ephesians 4: beginning with verse 24, that we are to put on the new man, not hang on to the old. He explains how we are to seek changes in our life as proof of our maturity in our daily walk with God.
Your salvation is indeed a treasure that you need to guard. Let no one have it in their heart to not worry about church, or salvation, because they act just like you.
I close with a warning in Matthew 18:6: "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Let your testimony match up to your profession. The warning is His Word, not mine.
Rev. Richard Helms serves at Miracle Acres Ministries, 3187 E. James Lee Blvd., in Crestview.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HELMS: Let your testimony match your profession of faith