| “…walk in the way of love…” |
| —Ephesians 5:1 |
“You’re being watched!”
Does that phrase startle you? Does it create fear? Apprehension? Concern? It’s true that every person who claims the name of Jesus, every disciple, every “Christ’s-one,” is being watched every day by the people who cross the pathway of their lives.
In response to this reality, it is imperative to answer these questions:
- How well do we represent Jesus?
- How well do we handle joys?
- How well do we handle sorrows?
- When adversity comes our way, how do we react?
- Do we take every change in our lives with the same grace that our Savior would show?
- When someone does something that impacts negatively on our lives, do we respond the way Jesus would?
You see, people watch us every day to see if we act like we belong to the King of Kings. Do we show the kind of loving clarity that Jesus would show?
In writing to the Christians gathered in the house churches in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul offered this advice in Ephesians 5:1-2, 8, 10, and 15-17:
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light and find out what pleases the Lord.
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
People are watching us. They want to see if our faith in God is real. They want to measure whether devoting our lives to serving Christ has made the kind of transformation in our behavior that validates the truth and integrity of what we may say about the peace and joy we experience because we have accepted God’s gift of eternal life.
Over the years I have been writing this blog, I have shared an experience several times that illustrates what I am trying to share with you today. If you will, please allow me to share this true story once again.
Many years ago a man, who worked at the insurance company where I worked, approached me. He was someone with whom I had worked closely in years past in the Buffalo Office. Now that we were both in the Hartford, Connecticut, Home Office, we did not see each other very often. But, on this day, he asked me if he could talk with me.
“I don’t quite know how to put this,” he said, “but my wife has recently become one of those born again Christians. I would like to buy her a Christmas present that would let her know I love and support her, even though I don’t understand this decision she has made.”
“How can I help?” I asked.
“She told me that one of her new friends has a book in which she can find where any word is mentioned in the Bible. How do I get one of those books?”
“Well, that book is called a Concordance” I explained. “It looks like this.” (In God’s Providence, I just happened to keep a Concordance on my cubicle bookshelf.) After he looked at it, I then explained where he could buy one.
That encounter was the first of many conversations over the next year. Finally one day, he came to me with a huge smile on his face and just the hint of happy tears in his eyes. That’s right, you probably have guessed it. He had prayed and acknowledged Jesus as His personal Savior.
Why did this man come to me with his initial question? Because he had been watching me. I had never preached to him. I had never declared my faith to him. I had never even had a conversation about spiritual matters with him. But, when it came time to ask his question, he came to me knowing I would help him.
He had been watching me. Without my saying a single word—and even though there is absolutely nothing whatsoever that is special about me—he knew that he could talk with me about the Bible and how to read it well.
Every single day, every one of us is being watched by people who need a life-transforming encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. In a world where people are always trying to deceive others, we should be “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” people: people of the Truth; people of the Light. Let’s make a conscious choice to live in a way that honors the trust our King has placed in us to represent Him well to a needy world.
Based on a post from Tuesday, March 24, 2015
