"And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father." --Colossians 3:17
I remember back in 2006 when Rick Santorum was up for re-election to the Senate, a man had called up a television show to question Santorum about his policies. This man had already called Santorum's office and spoken with one of his office staff. The staff member gave the man a harsh answer which did not represent Santorum at all. As a result, this man believed that Santorum was against him and would not vote for him in the election. In addition, the man also told his friends not to vote for Santorum. I doubt that this was the reason for Santorum's loss in the election, but it did not help much. The senator had staff that was to represent him accurately, and one staff member failed to do his job. This can be devastating for any public official, especially if he has the people's best interests at heart.
As Christians, we are Christ's representatives. We may be all a person sees of Christ, but if we are acting in a way that is inappropriate of the spirit of Christ, then that person may get the wrong impression. Many people in the world see Christians as hypocritical. This may be the result of some hurt caused by a Christian or some particular church. Within the last ten years or so there have been many news stories circulating about the inappropriate actions of church leadership towards the most vulnerable in the church. We cannot represent Christ in this way! The world is watching us. People are interested to see if our actions are consistent with our beliefs. We are a forgiven people, and, no, we are not perfect. God can use our imperfections to His glory, but we must never forget that we reflect the beauty of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The one you represent is the One who wants to save the world. Are you accurately representing Him?
No comments:
Post a Comment