YOU MAY BE THE ONLY BIBLE PEOPLE EVER READ

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

Matthew 5:14-16

“‘You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.’”

 

Recently there was a celebration in the Congo commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Christian missionaries coming to the area and sharing the gospel with the unsaved people of the area. During the celebration a very old man stood and asked to share a true story. He feared that because of his age he might pass away soon and would take this story to the grave unless he was allowed to speak. Everyone was anxious to hear what he had to say. So he began.

 

He stated that when Christians first came to the area the natives were suspicious of this new group of people and did not trust what they had to say concerning Jesus Christ. They were not sure whether they should believe their book, the Bible. After much discussion the village elders decided to devise a test to determine whether these new people could be trusted. They decided to poison them and watch how they reacted.

 

There were several families in the missionary group and the first person to succumb to the test was a young preschool girl. The parents of the girl tried everything in their power to diagnose and treat her symptoms but eventually she died. Soon a man in another family got ill and died within weeks. One by one the Christian missionaries fell as a result of the test of the natives. The elders and villagers watched closely as the people of faith remained steadfast in their belief in the goodness of God and their commitment to sharing the gospel with them. After all the Christians died, the elders stated that because of the dignity with which the newcomers died and the tenacity with which they believed their message of Jesus Christ, they believed the gospel of the missionaries must be true. Through the witness of how the Christians faced death the natives chose to believe in Jesus Christ. So goes the true story of how salvation came to the people of the Congo.

 

After hearing such a story you and I must evaluate the quality of our own living witness. Believe it or not non-Christians watch us closely. They hear what we say about our faith and our spiritual experiences and weigh it against how we live in our everyday life. They evaluate how we behave so that they can discern whether the gospel, as we live it out, is true. The Christian missionaries witnessed in their death. We witness by the way we live.

 

Do we WALK our TALK in all areas of our lives? Is what we say about our Christian faith consistent with how we live for our Lord? It’ has been said, “You may be the only Bible people ever read.” In many ways it is true. People watch you to see if what you say you believe is reflected in your lifestyle and habits. It’s a heavy burden to carry, to realize that you are being evaluated on a daily basis as to the validity of your faith. But isn’t that what we are called to do? We don’t belong to ourselves. We belong to God. We have been bought with a price and are expected to serve God in all we do (1 Corinthians 6:20). There is joy in serving Christ. There is happiness in living a holy life. There is fulfillment in obeying God in all areas of our life. If we have such an attitude as we live as Christians, people will be attracted to the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ. They will see that what we speak about the gospel is true because they see it reflected and patterned in our lives. This is not something we can do on our own.

 

God has given us the Holy Spirit as a gift to help us live the way we should so others can see Christ in us. When we let the Spirit lead in our lives we can live the life that will reflect Christ in all of our actions. When non-believers see a Christian living according to the Holy Spirit’s direction and according to the scriptures, they see truth in action, they see Christ living in their midst. This is the same thing the natives saw in the lives and deaths of the missionaries in the Congo.

 

Are you living a life pleasing to God? Are you living a life that reflects the leading of the Holy Spirit? Are you living a life that demonstrates to those watching you that what you say you believe is really true? We preach in the way we live, the way we express the gospel of the Bible to others.

 

2 Corinthians 4:4-6

“For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”