| |
TEXT: “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told
you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” The Apostle Paul, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 NIV
Does your daily life command the respect of outsiders? Do they see a difference in you? What difference can such respect make?
I invite you to eavesdrop on the following conversation I had with a classmate.
Noah inquired, “Why are you always happy?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You are always smiling, laughing and having a good time. This is English class and I hate being here, but you seem to love it.”
Possibly for the first time I realized that I really did love life and all it had to offer. It was something I always took for granted and never questioned. But now, Noah questioned my happiness and I suddenly realized why.
I said, “Noah, the reason I am happy is because I’ve got Jesus Christ.”
He was shocked. His religious affiliation was Jehovah’s Witness and he knew about Jesus, but not in the way that mainstream Christianity knows Him. To him Jesus is ‘a god’. The only difference between the Bible that the Jehovah’s Witnesses use and the Bible we use is that one word (describing Jesus) in John’s Gospel, chapter one, is translated differently. Our version claims that Jesus is God and Noah’s version claims that Jesus is a god.
The claim that Jesus can change your life in a way that makes you happy and able to live life freely is not in Noah’s vocabulary of understanding. He had been taught all his life that you have to earn your salvation. Grace is something Noah couldn’t fathom. Thus, fun and laughter weren’t regular occurrences in Noah’s life.
But on that day in my senior year of high school, I learned a very important lesson. People are watching. No matter what you are doing, people observe. When your life speaks differently than your stated beliefs, people see that and you can become part of their faith crisis. This dissonance can be a roadblock preventing them from believing in a good God amid this seemingly hopeless and hypocritical world.
Noah responded to my confession of faith, “That’s really cool man. That is really cool.”
For the rest of the semester, Noah and I exchanged discussions about our beliefs. He didn’t change his place of worship or confess to me a faith in the Trinity, but he came to respect me and the beliefs to which I adhere.
Noah gave me a blessing as well. He explained as best he could his faith in God (The Father), a man chosen by God to live on earth and become a god (Jesus, the Christ), and the working will of God in this world (The Holy Spirit).
To be friends from different faiths is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Although my beliefs tell me Noah needs to find Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior in order for him to enjoy eternal fellowship, I cannot command him to adjust his faith to fit my beliefs. The only thing I can do is invite him. A simple invitation is what many people are waiting for.
Here are three easy steps to letting your life shine:
1. Live a good life that speaks for itself so that others will respect you for what they see you doing. (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12)
2. Answer inquiries in love. (1 Peter 3:15)
3. Invite others to the family of God. (Matthew 18:19-20)
Micah J. Foster is a Religion and Creative Writing major at Pepperdine University. He is also in “Won by One,” the a cappella singing group from Pepperdine. His career goal is to be a youth minister when he graduates.
|
|
