Guilty by Association

       Are you "Guilty by Association"?  Better yet, "Who do You associate with?"
       I personally, associate with Christians. That doesn't necessarily make me a Christian. I go to church on Sundays, again that doesn't necessarily make me a Christian. Corrie ten Boom is quoted as saying, "Just because a mouse is in a cookie jar doesn't make it a cookie."  This is especially true in the South where so many people are trained or brought up in a church environment. They have learned to speak "Christian-ese".  When trying to decide if a person is a Christian we must watch their actions. Or as Jesus said the fruit that they produce. (Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Matthew 7:20)
        What fruit? Well the fruit of the spirit of Christ. (But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Gal. 5:22-23) Do you ask God daily to examine your heart and to show you where you are lacking?  In Ephesians 6 it says that I must put on the full armor of God. Without doing this it can be very hard to have or show the fruit of the spirit. To learn how to put on the armor and to have the fruit of the spirit I must associate daily with the one who provides that fruit. I must be connected to the vine, or without metaphors, I must daily connect myself to Christ. To do this you need to daily read God's word. Again Corrie ten Boom gave a wonderful picture of how this works... An empty glove is nothing but a shell or picture of our heart. Empty unless it is picked up and a hand put into it. When our heart is filled with God's spirit we are no long empty.
      Proverbs has much to say about associations.  Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble. Proverbs 13:20  My child, fear the LORD and the king. Don't associate with rebels, for disaster will hit them suddenly. Who knows what punishment will come from the LORD and the king? Proverbs 24:21-22    Also 1 Corinthians 15 has much to say about bad company and good character. I will not quote the entire chapter here, but encourage the reader to look it up. 
      So the big question here is, "What kind of company do you keep?" Do you hang around with those that are into idolatry, rebelliousness, sexual sin, drugs, who get angry and threaten, etc.? Because if you do you will be deemed guilty by association. If I am with a person that I call friend and they are stopped by the law and found to be in possession of drugs, do not think that I would not be accused. Yes, I would be innocent, but that would not matter to the judicial system. My good character and reputation would be damaged. Worse yet, because I call myself a Christian, the name of my Savior would be damaged.
     Now you might say that Jesus while he was on earth associated with thieves, prostitutes, and in general a very bad group of people. Yes, he spoke with these people. He touched them and healed many. Many followed Him. He is Emanuel, God incarnate. But there were many that rejected Him, or just hung around to see the things that were going on. Their lives were not changed. When you accept Jesus as your personal Christ, when you let Him fill your heart and soul and mind, you want to be different than the rest of the world. You will be changed. You will desire to be near Him, to associate with Him. Someday that may be a criminal offense. In many places it is already. If I am then deemed guilty by association then I will count it gain.
     Something to think about... Are You Guilty by Association? Who do you associate with?
  Think about it. Blessings to all, ~ S~
   The Quilted YaYa