Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Have you ever seen a bunch of men with a flat tire? Chances are, they all know how to change a tire. Or they at least know how to call Triple-A and get somebody to do it for them. But do they do that?
Noooo... they do THIS:
Guy #1: "Look, Bubba, we got a flat tire."
Guy #2: "Sure do, Dale. That tire's flat as a possum on a Nascar track."
Guy #1: "Yup, that's a flat tire alright."
Guy #2: "Sure is."
Guy #1: "Yup. In fact, that very well may be the flattest dang tire I've ever seen in my life."
Guy #2: "I reckon somebody's gonna have to change that tire."
Guy #1: "Yeah. Reckon so. Ya know why? Cause it's flat."
Now does this little conversation have a purpose? Well, maybe. Heaven knows I don't understand men and how their brains work, but I'm sure there's some good reason for them to stand around and talk about changing the tire. Standing around and talking about the flat tire has its time and place.
But there's also a time and a place to shut up and actually CHANGE THAT TIRE! You can only hem and haw about it for so long before it's time to quit talking about it and actually do it!
And that's how it is with sharing your testimony too.
Now let me be very clear about something: I am not saying we shouldn't talk about the Lord. We are absolutely called to witness. We are definitely supposed to share our testimony of Him with others. There's absolutely a time and place to use words to bear witness of Him and His redeeming grace.
But, brothers and sisters, there's only so much good that can come from just talking about it. If we want to bear a meaningful witness, we have to shut up and change that tire!
In other words, we have to live as people whose lives are changed by the redeeming blood of Christ, instead of just talking and testifying about it.
Has anyone ever told you to put your money where your mouth is? Well, in this economy, I'm going to give you slightly different advice: put your EXAMPLE where your mouth is.
Maybe you're saved. Maybe God's love is a part of your life. Maybe you are getting closer to Him every day. Well, that's great. Maybe you can rattle off scripture after scripture about how much God loves us, and how amazing He is. That's great too.
But if all you can do is talk about God, then you're not a whole lot closer to being a true witness of Him than Dale and Bubba are to getting that tire changed.
So, how do you share a meaningful witness with someone in your life? How do you minister through actions instead of just words?
You have to be ready to know Him in a new and much deeper way. Living for God is serious business, y'all. And if you want to be able to share God with this depraved and lost world, you've got to be overflowing with your testimony of Him. It has to be spilling out of every cell and every pore in you.
And then, brothers and sisters, you’ve got to shut up and change that tire! There’s a time to talk about being changed. There’s a time to write about how He has changed you. But those things mean so little when you’re not living a changed life!
Galatians 5:22-23 gives us a picture of what a living witness looks like. It talks about the fruit of the Spirit; or, in other words, the qualities that naturally come about as a result of living a life centered on God. According to this passage, "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."
Who wouldn't want others to describe them as being full of those qualities? They're all wonderful personality traits. And they're all things we look for in a spouse, friend, or someone we admire. And- the opinions of others aside- who wouldn't want to live that way? Who wouldn't want more joy, more peace, more patience, more self control, or more of any of those other traits, in their life? Well, the more God changes you, the more you become full of the fruit of the Spirit.
Your relationship with God is your business. Only you and God truly know what changes you need to make in your life in order to truly live for Him, and be a living witness of Him. All I can do is give you a few general pointers. Please don’t just read my advice today like a checklist, brothers and sisters. Think about it. Pray about it. Ask God how you can specifically apply it to your life.
And don’t believe for a moment that one person, one witness, one voice can’t change the world. Because any Christian can receive the authority, given by Christ, to do extraordinary things through God. Any life can be used as His instrument through which to work miracles. Anyone with a witness of Christ can change the world around them.
This world is so lost, brothers and sisters. Watch just about any news station for an hour- or even half an hour- and then try and tell me this isn’t a world that needs a Savior. And you are called to bring people to Christ. So ask yourself: Am I just talking a good game about being saved? Or do I live a life where every word, every action, and every decision is affected by the blood of the Lamb?
First, you need to get your priorities straight. See, this world has the ugly habit of messing with our priorities. It makes us think that certain things are ridiculously important, when really what they are is just riduculous. Think about that the next time you're up at three in the morning, staring at your Facebook homepage, looking for the meaning of life in other people's drama. Or the next time you spend two hours in front of the mirror, trying to find real happiness in a perfect hairdo, a perfect body, or the perfect shade of lipstick. Or the next time you're working late- for the third night in a row- because you're convinced that if you work just a little harder, or make just a little more money, or impress your boss just a little more, then God will show up in your life.
King Solomon was a very rich man. Even for a king. This dude was rolling in it, like, big time. He had huge palaces, hot women, tons of servants, and just about every shiny thing you could possibly imagine. He had it goin' on. He was wise, he was powerful, he was respected, and his people loved him. But what did he have to say about all of that? “Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” (Eccl. 3:11)
Now just think about it: This guy could have whatever he wanted. He was livin' the sweet life like you wouldn't even believe. And yet he described life on earth and everything in it as meaningless. He placed no value on the here-and-now of daily life. Why can't earth provide us with the meaning and the fulfillment that we desire?
Well, it's because we weren't created to live for earth! We weren't created to live the life of a king. We weren't created to strive toward gold or silver. Or houses, or cars, or boats, or vacations, or jewelry, or... fill in the blank.
Granted, that's how most people measure wealth. That's what most people will spend their time striving toward. And you know what? Take it from King Solomon, a guy who had it all: It's meaningless!
But, brothers and sisters, we're Christians! We're called to something higher! We were created to strive toward love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We were created to strive toward a Godly life, filled with the Spirit and forever changed by the redeeming blood of a Savior.
We weren't put on this earth to strive toward living like a king. We're meant to follow in the footsteps of the King! That is where we will find meaning, and purpose, and happiness, and fulfillment. And, by following in His footsteps, we will be changed by His influence.
And if you think others can't see a changed countenance, you're out of your mind. Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven."
Sure, a lost person probably won't look at you- the way you handle a tough situation, the respectful way you treat people, the strength you have- and automatically think, "Gee, I bet he's saved. I should get saved too." or "Oh wow, she must be a Christian whose life has been changed by God. I think I'll become a Christian now."
But you better believe that lost people will be watching you and thinking, "I wonder how she's been able to have such peace in such a tragic situation." or "I wonder how he manages to be so friendly, even when others are jerks to him."
And one day, when the time is right, God will put it in your heart to minister to that lost person through words. But the truth is, you will have been ministering to them without words all along. And a silent witness is a powerful thing, brothers and sisters. When you witness with your life, even if it's without saying a word, you're saying something about the Lord, loud and clear. And people are listening.
Brothers and sisters, what are people hearing about Jesus Christ from your silent witness? There's definitely a time to tell people about Him through words. But there's also a time to quit running our mouths and let God use us to change the world.
Be blessed brothers and sisters. And quit staring at that flat tire, for Heaven's sake!
~BYR
