Not everyone will agree with your beliefs but maybe by it others will be drawn to Him who does. The fruits of the Spirit are hard to argue against!
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Christ within us is our hope and our direction. The traditions and doctrines of men can hinder us from entering fully into the grace of God. Faith alone pleases God and whoever accepts His Son, accepts Him and they are placed in the Body of Christ.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
1 Thessalonians 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.
Even when darkness comes. Jesus’ light overcomes.
John 8:12 (ESV) "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. '"
God will light the way so you do not stumble.
First, let's notice that the promise was for "whoever" followed Jesus: No one was excluded. And the meaning of the Greek word used for "follow" here was "to follow as a disciple, to imitate." The phrase implied continual action. In other words, this promise involves a deliberate commitment to walk with Jesus as His disciple continually.
And the sacrifice is worth it.
To those who choose to follow Him, Jesus promises spiritual light and life … a promise only He can fulfill because He is the source of all guidance. He is "the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).
Because of Jesus, we can have His Spirit, "the light of life," within us, keeping us from stumbling around in the darkness. The darkness of sin, guilt and shame is overcome by Jesus. Fear, uncertainty and anxious thoughts are overcome by clarity, joy and peace from the source of light and life: Jesus Himself.
These are the opening words of John's Gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:1; John 1:4-5). First 5
“whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be.” (Martin Luther King Jr.) Sabbath Moments
Mark 3:20–21
20 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.” The New King James Version
Jesus’ family might have wanted to preserve their reputation. The political ramifications of Jesus’ actions and teaching also could have caused His family to attempt to restrain Him, for fear of reprisal from Roman authorities or local Jewish leaders. Alternatively, they might have not have believed that Jesus was the Messiah and so attempted to silence Him to avoid being ostracized from the religious system (believing that it, too, would reject Him). Faithlife Study Bible
Opposition to Jesus came not only from His enemies. Jesus’ own people, no doubt close friends and perhaps even relatives heard of His teaching and assumed that He was out of His mind. The NKJV Study Bible
Those whose hearts are enlarged in the work of God, can easily bear with what is inconvenient to themselves, and will rather lose a meal than an opportunity of doing good. Those who go on with zeal in the work of God, must expect hinderances, both from the hatred of enemies, and mistaken affections of friends, and need to guard against both. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
John 10:20 And many of them said, “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?”
Acts 26:24 Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!”
John 7:3–5 His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
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