Are you standing out every day as a Christian?

Lyn Woods encourages us to see, know and show Jesus in our lives.

This year’s Covenant Sunday urged us to consider how we can step up and stand out for Jesus and live in covenant with him. The covenant cards we signed declared: ‘I want to see you, know you and show you.’

The concept of seeing Jesus reminded me of a familiar image found in many a home, including mine, in the latter part of the 20th century. You might think of a modern depiction of Jesus from a film or TV show. It might be helpful to visualise Jesus in your rhythms of prayer, devotions, worship or study. But what of really seeing Jesus?

I recently attended the funeral of a dear friend, a true Christian gentleman. Of all the things that were spoken during his celebration of life, and there were many, a lady captured my attention with one simple, affirming statement: ‘The only Jesus some people will see is the Jesus in you and the Jesus in me.’

I saw the immeasurable love, grace and mercy of Jesus in my corps family.

Thinking back to my youth, there were many Salvationists who stepped up and stood out for Jesus. Their example, dedication, inspiration and selfless giving spoke volumes to me, though they probably didn’t even realise their impact at the time; it was who they were through life in Christ. I saw the immeasurable love, grace and mercy of Jesus in my corps family; they showed it to me through their words and actions.

For others to see Jesus in us, we first must know him truly and intimately. We get to know Jesus through studying his teachings and applying them to every part of our daily living, talking with our heavenly Father, immersing ourselves in his boundless love, grace and mercy, seeking his will and going deeper in our relationship with him. Only then can we live the way he intends and show him to others.

As 1 John 2:3–6 says: ‘We can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did’ (New Living Translation).

If our daily living isn’t holy, if our outward faith is superficial, we will lack spiritual authenticity.

William Booth urged us to ‘plunge ‘neath the waters’ of that ‘soul-cleansing sea’ so that our lives are not ‘joyless and useless’ (SASB 509) but shine with the risen Saviour.

Tim Hughes in his song ‘Jesus, You Alone’ described it this way:

Day and night I’ll lift my eyes to seek you…
Hungry for a glimpse of you in glory…
So I’ll set my sights upon you, set my life upon your praise,
Never looking to another way.

If our daily living isn’t holy, if our outward faith is superficial, we will lack spiritual authenticity. We cannot show Jesus without truly seeing and knowing him first; we must be rooted in Christ, observe his commands and teachings and love wholeheartedly. See him, know him, show him – it’s the only way.