“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).
As one reads the words of Jesus and the writings of the apostles, it becomes clear that we have a testimony that is to be shared with the watching world, a testimony that is shared by our words and by our life. In the passage above Jesus exhorts us to live in such a way that the people who witness our living will draw the conclusion that our manner of living is a direct result of our faith in Christ. So much so that their praise will not be of us but of the God that we serve.
In the movie Beyond the Sea, Sandra Dee says to Bobby Darrin, “People hear what they see.” We can make many verbal proclamations about our faith but it’s what we do, it’s how we live that the people around us judge. I once heard it stated this way, “I can’t hear what you are saying because what you are doing is speaking so loudly.”
The Apostle Paul speaks of our lives being “living letters, known and read by all men.” Like it or not my brothers and sisters, our lives are on display and when we make the claim to be Christians, everyone draws certain conclusions about that claim. May God awaken us to the fact that our lives are on display, in our homes, at our jobs, in our church, and in our play. May God grant us the grace to walk with Him, before men, in such a way that they will see our good works and then glorify Him.
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