"I Don't Want Them to Know..."

"I don't want them to know I'm a Christian..."
~ name withheld

A few years ago, I was speaking with one of my closest Christian brothers, and he related to me that he had considered putting some sort of Christian emblem (fish, cross, etc.) on the back bumper of his truck, but then changed his mind, because he drove so aggressively he didn't want people to associate his poor driving with his Christianity.

Another friend recently related that he saw a "Honk if you love Jesus" bumper sticker on a car in front of him. He tooted his horn, and the driver got out of their car and told him off, right there at the traffic light.

2 Corinthians 3:3 (The Message Paraphrase) - Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives—and we publish it.

Are we truly living the believer's life, as "letters" that anyone can read? If someone were to observe us at the library, in traffic, or at the fast-food counter, would they they see a hand-signed testament from Jesus Christ, or do they see just another person (even atheists can act nice)?

Does our BELIEF show in our ACTION?

Philippians 2:15 (New Living Translation) - Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

The two stories at the top of this blog are a reminder that - throughout my life - I need to be living that difference, shining as a light, and not just showing my Christianity when I know I'll get a positive response.

"You gotta live this thing."
~ Elder Cleon L. McCoy, Jr (a.k.a. "Papa")

Amen to that, Papa.

Lord, I love you, and I want everyone around me to see your love reflected through my life. Help me to stay focused on you, so that each step of my life (in AND out of church) reflects your redeeming love.

Amen.
© 2010 Scotty Ward