Purpose

Reading Me

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I don’t remember when I first heard this refrain but I think it was in junior high or high school. From my experience, it’s popular in youth groups and Christian camp circles as a reminder for young people that how they conduct their lives will influence the witness that they have for Christ. It’s one thing to tell someone the Good News; it’s another thing entirely to live in such a way that the reality of the Gospel is evident in your life.

While I’ve been aware of this phrase for years, it’s only recently that I’ve contemplated an underlying truth of this statement. If I could in fact be “the only Bible someone reads” then it is important that I know what the Bible says. After all, it’s not just my actions that determine people’s perceptions of Christ. It’s the words I say, the attitudes I convey, and the treasures I value that will also be a representation of Him. If I don’t know what His Word says, if I don’t make it a regular practice to not only read, but study Scripture, then there is no way that I can be an accurate representation of His Word to those who may otherwise never pick up a Bible.

Another way to think of it is this – when an ambassador is sent out to represent a government, they are given instructions for how they are to live and interact with the people that they are sent to. These instructions form the basis for their time spent in a foreign land. In a similar way, Scripture contains the instructions for how we are to represent Christ to those who don’t know Him. If we don’t know what the instructions say, when people “read” us, they will not have an accurate representation of our King. They won’t know what is important to Him, what He expects, and what having a relationship with Him really means.

When the Israelites were sent out of Egypt and given the commandments by which they were to live, God told them that not only should His Word be in their hearts, but it should surround them in such a way that wherever they went, they would remember His instructions (Deut 6:6-9). If we are to be the a representation of His Word to others, we would do well to do the same.

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Purpose

Expecting a Hit

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. –2 Peter 3:9

I’ve heard that one of the most difficult things to do in professional sports is to hit a baseball. The hand-eye coordination that is required to hit a ball that is speeding towards you is beyond what other sports ask of the human body. Sure, you may run more and be hit more in other sports, but purely from a getting all the synapses to fire in the right way so that your brain communicates quickly enough to your hands what your eyes are seeing, standing at home plate is a challenging place to be. Add on top of that that everyone else’s eyes are watching you to see how you will perform, it’s quite the pressure cooker.

It’s easy to feel the same way about sharing our faith.

We wonder if we’ll be able to recall just the right Scripture verse in order to answer the person’s question.

We ponder whether our mental acuity will be up to the rigorous questioning.

We’re fearful about what people who are watching us will think when we “strike out.”

So it’s tempting to want to call a time-out and to walk away from the plate.

But we need not feel this way.

After all, as Scripture tells us  and my pastor often reminds us the reason Jesus hasn’t returned is because there are still some who need to be saved.  So just as the baseball player must approach the plate fully expecting to accomplish what their coach wants, so when we share the Gospel we should do so expecting that it will be received. After all, God has promised that there are still some people out there who will receive it, and He has given us the privilege of being a part of bringing that work to fruition.

If a baseball player approached home plate concentrating on all the things that could go wrong, they likely wouldn’t be a very good batter. Instead, they must rely on their training and their God-given abilities, concentrating on what they know they should do, rather than the challenges inherent in doing so. They must walk to the plate expecting a hit. And so should we.

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