By David ReayWednesday 13 Aug 2014LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read Matthew 5:16
16 In the same way,let your good deeds shine out for all to see,so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. (NLT)
The author Karen Blixen told of her encounter with one of the African servants of her household. Kitau,the servant,informed her that after serving her for a few months he was leaving to take up a post in the home of a Muslim Sheikh. Blixen was upset at this and asked if he wanted more money or if something else was wrong.
Kitau said none of this was the issue. It was just that he had decided in his mind to embrace either the Christian faith or the Muslim faith. To help him decide,he resolved to work three months under a Christian employer and three months with a Muslim employer. Having studied how each put his or her faith into practice,he would make up his mind.
An interesting commentary on our passage today. We rightly want to communicate our faith in words,explaining our faith and helping people understand what we believe. But we dare not neglect what Jesus says about the significance of how we live. Do our lives,even imperfectly,reflect something of Jesus? Are we in any way different from other nice and decent people? Or are we content to merely believe the right things and wait to get to heaven when we die?
The old question still has power: “If you were on trial for being a Christian,would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
Blessings
David Reay