I have seen my share of hypocrites; I have seen the mischief of their pretensions and play acting. But I decided a long time ago that they would not determine whether I went to church or if I followed Jesus. I also decided not to focus on them. For you see, I have seen lots of good folks that loved Jesus. Their lives testified to His presence; I saw that the Spirit lived in them. They did not live for position or power, some had few possessions, most were unknown and their lives were marked off by the world as inconsequential. Yet, they were the salt of the earth and the light of the world.. There was something in them that made me want to be like them; mostly, their lives encouraged me to be like Jesus. They were good folks in whom the Lord dwelt; they helped bring me to the Lord and remain true to Him.
“They sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.” (Acts 11:22b-24 NIV).
