(By Nate Irvine) – Like it or not, if you call yourself a Christian, most people that don’t go to church or have a relationship with God are going to look at your life for their answers. Anything you do or say may be a response to something they’ve been dealing with. Or, any action they witness may be taken as a license or a granted permission for something they’ve been trying to discern secretly. In other words, when they see you, they think, or hope, they’ll see Jesus.
Earlier today, I was researching what seems to be a great organization called the Marin Foundation. It’s a foundation that works with the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender community in Chicago (located minutes from the Salvation Army’s College for Officer’s Training). I was reading the founder’s blog (his name is Andrew Marin), scrolling through some past posts, when I came across a quote he posted from a professor he studied under:
“The world doesn’t read the Bible, they read Christians.”
I’ve been very interested in this comment ever since I’ve let it digest, mostly because I know that it’s so true. I assume that anytime anyone finds out that I’m a Christian, they automatically assign me to a moral standard, expecting me to uphold it. No of course, they will probably never tell me that they watch what I do, or give extra thought to what I say, but I like to think it still happens.
And even if it doesn’t, it won’t change the fact that I am supposed to be a symbol of Jesus, that I’m supposed to embody the teachings of Christ, and that I am supposed stand for that which God stands for.
Being inspired by the Holy Spirit, the author of the book of James wrote about this quite perfectly:
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
If it’s true that most non-Christ followers don’t read the Bible, then I need to make sure that I try to look a lot more like Jesus and a lot less like the world everyday.
About the Author
Nate Irvine
Nate Irvine works as the Director of Youth Evangelism and Discipleship for the Metropolitan Division of The Salvation Army. He makes his home on the north side of Chicago, and attends the Irving Park Corps. Graduated from Trinity International University with a BA in Biblical Studies and a minor in Spanish in 2006, he lives to see God's Kingdom here on Earth, and The Salvation Army live true to it's calling. When he's not working, he can probably be found watching hulu, enjoying music, or just hanging out.
