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Week 7: Volume

 

Is your witness louder than your radio?

 

When I was in high school, some friends of mine and I used to do what we called "drive-by witnessing". We would drive up and down the main drag of town blaring Christian music from the car radio. We turned a lot of heads but made more of a nuisance of ourselves than any difference in people’s lives. Of course, why would we? We weren’t showing people any difference in our own lives.

 

Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. [16] In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

 

I went for a walk through downtown of the city I used to live in. An older gentleman, probably in his late fifties, walked swiftly down the street in my direction. Tightly to his chest, he held a portable radio wrapped in a newspaper, its antenna hanging to the side. I looked to say hello as he passed, but didn’t as he made an obvious attempt to avoid eye contact, even veering closer to the curb in order to put as much space between us as possible without stepping out into traffic. The look upon his face was that of a child who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar and was ashamed. I heard the voice of Michael W. Smith coming from his radio. "...there can be no greater proof, than to live the life..." I wonder if he was really listening to the song, or at least had ever really thought about the lyrics. It talks about demonstrating the truth of Christ in our lives; how keeping silent about our faith is no longer sufficient; how when we do share our belief, using words that are unclear or do not match up with our actions are no longer good enough. None of us are perfect, and until Christ returns for us, none of us ever will be. Until that day, however, we can strive to follow the example of the only perfect man who ever lived, Jesus Christ, and live the life, unashamed.

 

Romans 1:16 "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. [17] For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’"

 

Assignment:

Examine what signals your life is sending to the the world around you. Is your witness louder than your radio?