What do people see?

If you walk into my office you will see some of my interests and things I enjoy. You will see pictures of my family and pictures of my boys playing sports. You will see brain teaser puzzles on my desk for kids to play with because I'm a kid at heart and always like a good challenge. I have mementos from mission trips that have impacted me and others. I don't have anything to represent my love of hiking but I will have to find something. On the wall opposite my desk you will see my wall of reproduced tin tractor signs. I even have one (seen to the right) that is an original 1945 tin sign that hung on our family's milk barn for more than 60 years. I enjoy farming with my dad and looking over old tractors. My office is a slight reflection of who I am. But more importantly it shows you what is important to me.

People can easily tell what is important to you. If it's your kids they know it. If it's a hobby like hunting, biking, fishing, movies, books, sports...people will know it. How? They see it reflected in your life. Those things that mean the most to us are the things we share, show off and talk about regularly. But the real question is do people see how important your faith is to you? Some will read this and quickly say, "Oh, yes. People know I'm a Christian." But that wasn't the question. The question is, "Do people see how important your faith is to you?" The answer for all of us is an emphatic or even sheepish "yes." People do see how important your faith is to you. If it's important to you they see it takes top priority in your life. They see you adjusting your life's schedule around your relationship with God. They see you stopping to bless your food when it's not important to others. They see you making the time to worship God with others. They see you relying on Him in your darkest moments without giving it a second thought. For those who don't give a second thought to God or their relationship with Him except for an hour on Sundays, people notice how important these things are to you. We can try and hide it as best we can but in the end the way we live our lives and the things people see in our lives will show them how little importance we put on our relationship with God.

Don't hear me encouraging you to be fake about your relationship with God. Remember, Jesus condemned hypocrisy regularly. Instead of being a hypocrite be authentic. Show the world what your relationship with Christ really means to you. If it doesn't mean anything more than spiritual fire insurance, I'd encourage you to check your relationship with Him. If it means everything to you, then show it to the world.

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