I don’t think I have met a Christian who hasn’t felt convicted at one time or another about the way they live. Even the most devout men and women occasionally feel like frauds after being given an opportunity to reflect the light of God, but have chosen instead to live as the world lives. For a vast majority of us, we have a separation between our Christian lives and the one we live when outside in the “real world.” Notice that I said “we.” A day does not go by where I don’t feel as if I have let God down in one way or another. Whether it is not taking an opportunity to witness or succumbing to inappropriate conversations with a group of buddies when I could have been an example of godliness, I constantly fall short of the glory of God. It is a struggle that I have waged since I became a believer and it does not seem like it is getting easier anytime soon.
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. – John 19:38
The fear of how the rest of the world will see or treat us cripples many of us. We talk about the gift of salvation yet the way we live our lives often times does not reflect a thankful heart. We jump at the opportunity to talk about how much God’s grace means to us with people we know are believers, but when we are surrounded by those who have yet to experience that grace, we fall back on our old ways. We choose to conform to those around us rather than to take the opportunity to be a beacon of goodness in a world of darkness. We choose to live like Joseph. Living as we should but only when it is comfortable and safe. In Joseph’s defense, he eventually took a chance and risked his life in asking for Jesus’ body, which is more than I can say for myself. Most of us are completely comfortable in accepting the gift of salvation but are unwilling to risk anything in regards to helping others obtain that same gift.
People should be able to look at us and know that we’re Christians. We should be known for the radiance of the Spirit in our hearts that would shine as the sun if we allowed it to. The reality is that the lost will never understand what God’s love means or that they can obtain salvation through His Son unless His disciples are the lighthouses in the storm for the unbeliever to use. I know that this analogy might seem a bit over the top, but I believe that it is none the less apt. We are incapable of bringing anyone to Jesus except through the light of God. As human beings’ we merely reflect the truth that God places in our hearts but we must be willing participants in this process.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:16
Remember the martyred Christians who went willingly and without shame to their deaths, professing their faith and suffering for being Children of God. They could have hidden their faith like Joseph did but they chose to live their lives with the light of God reflecting through them. I pray that I can take their example and run with it.
Prayer: Dear Lord, let me be intentional when it comes to sharing my faith with the lost. Please give me the strength to be open and transparent with the unbeliever as I am with the believer.
