Photo Source: www.creationswap.com by Matt Gruber
In our post-modern society, day by day the odds increase that the people we come in contact with don’t regularly interact with Christians. There’s a very real possibility you and I might be the only real Christian someone comes in contact with today, or this week, or this month. That’s a huge responsibility. And it’s a huge opportunity.
As we focus on our day to day lives, work, family, hobbies, even going to church activities, let’s not forget that we might be the only Christians those we interact with come into contact with. Are we making it count? Are we showing Jesus to them as we merge with them in traffic, as we go through the checkout line at the store, as we pass them by standing on the street corner, as we stand next to them at the church picnic.
And what about at work? Most of us spend more time with our co-workers than our families, certainly more than those we go to church with. Your employer has certain expectations of what you need to be doing and with what level of excellence you do it. And I bet your company has a mission statement, too. But what’s your mission statement?
Beyond getting a paycheck, doing a good job, maybe serving or helping others meet their needs at work, do you bring your Christian mission statement with you where ever you go? Or to paraphrase Jesus, do you let your light so shine among men, do you lift Jesus up, that all you come into contact with will be drawn to Him? When we have a coworker mention a problem they’re having with something, or maybe talk about something going on at home, or friction between a coworker, do we take a minute to pray with them? Or do we just let it be a gripe session or turn into gossip.
As Christians we are on a secret mission. Yes we are walking around, day by day, living our lives, taking the kids to school, going to work, buying groceries, and doing our everyday thing. But we’re here to bring the light to a dark world. Just by showing up we bring Jesus where ever we go. What would people think of Christians if you were the only one they ever met?
Paul writes that those who are followers of Christ are like letters of recommendation, or references on a resume, read by all men. When people see us they see who we are and what we represent, and whose name we carry. He says, “clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” (2 Cor. 3:3).
That’s a huge responsibility to know that people’s idea of Jesus will be influenced by us. And it’s a huge opportunity. What do people think of Jesus when they read the letter that is your life?