Being An Advertisement For Christ

1:14 the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment ...

Apparently, Paul’s willingness to be imprisoned for the cause of Christ and his relentless efforts to evangelize everyone who crossed his path inspired an increase in the faith of the Roman Christians. They were boosted in their trust in God when they saw him live for Christ victoriously and unshakably while in chains.

How much potential each of us has to influence others in their faith, either positively or negatively! How often we fail to realize the effect we already do have on the faith of others. Inevitably, by the testimony of our example, we leave in our wake souls that we have impacted. We might, like Paul, have inspired them by our faith to trust in God themselves. Or we might have done damage to their faith by either promoting ungodliness/worldliness, etc. by our example, or, more subtly, by giving the impression of endorsing their lives as they are by the silence of our lives. (I don’t mean by this last point that we ought to be verbally assaulting every sin that we observe. I mean that our lives ought to speak loudly enough of Christ so that those who come into contact with us hear and see something of Him.)

What is the message of our lives? Not what are the truths that we agree with but what is the testimony of the way we live? Are we an advertisement for trusting in God? Are we an advertisement for being sold out to Him? I long for it to be so in my life.

(And as I’ve said already, the biggest impact we will have is when we are going through troubles. That’s when you can tell what’s really in a man, that’s when you hear the deepest, most foundational testimony of a man’s soul.)

My dear Father, thank you for the inspiring example of Paul. Thank you for the fruit that was born in other lives by his trust in You. Lord, I want this to happen to me. I want to live a life that points others to You. I want to live a life that declares to the world (starting with my family) that You are a triumphant and trustworthy God. But I am so weak. There is nothing of this in me by myself. My life so often contradicts the message I want to send to others. So often my life is an attempt to advertise me instead of advertising You . Forgive me, Lord. Have mercy on this sinner. Take this weak vessel and show forth Your strength. Work in me and through me by Your mighty power.