Less Talk, More Show

Recently I had a conversation with a friend, the mother of a fourteen-year-old boy. She conveyed an observation her son had made on the way home from church regarding the Christianity of yesterday and of today.

“Your generation of Christian wants to be constantly told about Jesus…” He said, undoubtedly as a commentary on the events of that morning.

I agreed with his observation having lived through nearly four decades of sermonizing. But then the boy went on to say something deeply moving and profound…

“My generation wants to be SHOWN Jesus.” He said, revealing insight and wisdom beyond his years.

And therein lies the whole point of our existence as believers. It is our purpose to be “little Christ” to the people around us. As I read the accounts of Jesus’ life I notice that it is very different from most of the lives I observe—mine included. But it does not have to be that way. We are to be people who show the world Jesus in all that we do—finding joy in giving and reason in sacrifice. This should not be too difficult for us “older” believers to figure out since Jesus’ life has been so conveniently recorded for us in the Book.

It is imperative for our generation of believers to show the ones to come Jesus through how we live. If we don’t, we will lose them. I have come to the realization that the next generation is more dialed into OBSERVING us than it is LISTENING to us. And we could talk up one side and down the other without a single, solitary response. The power of the Gospel is evident in the lives of believers who simply live like Jesus.

Less talk, more show.

Jump Into the Sandbox

This spring I’ll have been a Christian for 39 years. Over the past four decades I have had the honor of being around a handful of people who seemed to have existed on another plane with God. Their lives indicated that they had a grasp of the heavenly presence on earth. They were the ones who seemed to know things about God that no one else did. They had a demeanor that hinted they understood the ways of God in a manner few others could. They were humble, wise, and full of indescribable peace—and if you weren’t looking for them, you wouldn’t notice them amongst the glitter and the rouge of the day.

Stop, look around you, they are still here—though they are very rare. They may be just an arms length away and you do not realize it. It’s worth the effort it takes to find them though, because it is highly likely that God is speaking to them about some very important things. And if he were, then we would do well to jump into their “sandbox” and see what God is shaping and creating around them.

You may already know a person the likes of which I speak—but if you don’t, you may want to start looking. They might appear like a busy mom, or a janitor, or an old person on the bus. They probably will not seem very important or influential—that is until you get to know them. When you do you might discover you share a common thread of thought, or a similar circumstance of life, or an insatiable need to have more of God. And suddenly you’ll realize you’ve become connected to the heart of the Lord.

God has created some people through time and fire—and because of that they seem to flow on the wind of the Holy Spirit. Through them are the great and small movements of God revealed. Through them God initiates change and brings into existence the new things that we all hope lay ahead.