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Day 14: Delicate as a flower

What is the saying about trust? “Once bitten, twice shy!” No, I don’t think that’s it. “You can’t buy trust.” I think that’s closer, but still not the one I’m looking for. “Trust is earned, not given.” Well, that is closer, but still not it. Oh, I remember! “Trust can take years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair.” That’s the one. Trust is as delicate as a flower. In a life of relationships, trust is a vital component to healthy ones. And if we are going to be fruitful in our faith, we must be trustworthy witnesses to the message of Jesus! 

                  

Paul tells the church at Corinth this in a different way. He tells them that they are their community’s example of the Gospel. Their community would read Paul’s letters through the actions of the church body! 


2 Corinthians 3: 2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Sometimes we can miss some things when trying to understand Paul’s analogies, but he is saying that these church folks who have heard the teachings of Jesus through the letters of Paul should be witness for the lost to see and “read.”

                  

If those around us are “reading our letter” or watching our lifestyle, what would it say? That is our witness. Whatever people see and perceive about our lives, they will believe about our Jesus. That’s why our witness and our trustworthiness go hand in hand. If we talk about forgiveness, mercy, and grace but we do not operate in them, we are being hypocritical. There weren't many topics that Jesus went head on about more than hypocrisy.  

                  

There are a few aspects of our lives we must live out in a very tangible way if we are going to be fruitful witnesses for Jesus. 


  • Integrity: Living truthfully and honestly in all circumstances, especially the tough ones.

  • Love: Demonstrating Christlike compassion for all people, especially the difficult ones.

  • Peace and Joy: Showing a life transformed by the Holy Spirit where we are at peace in all things, and joyful in all things, even the trials. 

  • Consistency: Living faithfully, holding to our faith day in and day out. People need to be able to trust we are going to be who we are in Jesus every time we interact with them. 


If we live this way, we can have a solid, fruitful witness. We will be somewhere where people can turn when they need to experience hope, and in turn we can introduce them to our hope, Jesus. 

                  

We must take great care to protect our witness and our trustworthiness in our relationships because our lives reflect Christ. There is a really creepy song that came out in the 80’s. Now, outside of the faith there are only a few things I am willing to bow-up and die on a hill for. The fact that 80’s music is terrible is one of them, but that’s beside the point. In 1983 a song came across the airways that had to have been written by a serial killer, or at minimum a stalker. You’ll know them:


… Every breath you take

And every move you make

Every bond you break

Every step you take

I'll be watching you


… Every single day

And every word you say

Every game you play

Every night you stay

I'll be watching you


Seriously 80’s people, how creepy is that!? I jest, but there is a reality to this song on a relational level. The people in our lives who need Jesus watch how you and I act in every situation. We need to live with that truth in mind, let our life be a true witness to the saving, changing, sanctifying grace of God. 

                  

I’ll leave you with this: we cannot witness something we do not know. If we only have a surface level relationship with Jesus, we are only going to witness well on the surface. That’s all fine and dandy until the winds of life begin to blow and the rain soaks the veneer and shows what’s underneath. Let’s allow God to write His gospel so deep on our hearts that it becomes who we are. That is the only way we can become trustworthy witnesses. 

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