Look around you—at the stars, flowers, birds, mountains, oceans, etc. It’s so very beautiful! It produces a sense of awe and wonder in me every time I stop and look at it—even in this marred world. I’m drawn to it. It’s attractive to me.
The interesting thing is, you and I are part of that beautiful creation. Actually, we are the epitome of it!
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness….” God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. (Gen 1:26, 31)
Romans 1:20 tells us that God has revealed His qualities through His creation. Therefore, shouldn’t Christians also reveal who He is to others? After all, we have His divine nature residing in us. It only makes sense that we should also be displaying His beautiful qualities to others.
He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.” (Is 49:3)
For what purpose? To make Him known; to lead people to a saving knowledge of Himself through Jesus Christ.
God wants you and I to make Him look good to a lost and hurting world. God is good no matter how we live, but others will not be able to see His goodness in us unless we live through Christ the Vine.
Living outside the Vine produces ugly growth—anxiety, anger, criticism, bitterness, judgmentalism, etc. But living in and through the Vine will produce the beautiful, appealing fruit of love, joy, and peace (Gal 5:22).
Living through Christ the Vine makes the Gospel attractive.
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (Jn 15:8)
Like it or not, the way we live affects those around us!
When I was a kid I saw so much hypocrisy in the church I attended. It placed doubts about God and His love in my heart. My college professors led me to believe in evolution. Feminists told me that I could do all things in my own strength if I worked hard enough.
Hypocrisy is what led me to believe there was no God and that I could live independently from Him.
Gratefully, I got involved in a business with true Christian believers, and they greatly influenced me. It was their peace and joy that attracted me to them and opened my heart to the possibility that I might be wrong about the reality of God.
It didn’t happen right away. And I am sure these wonderful people prayed for me. It was over a year before I saw that the beauty in these Christians was Jesus Himself!
Jesus is so beautiful. And this beautiful One lives inside each believer! He desires to display His wonderful qualities through us— drawing others to want to know and accept Him as their Savior.
Our actions will either lead people to think rightly or wrongly about who God really is.
We cannot make others accept the wonderful truth of the Gospel, but we will be held accountable for how we live in front of them. I know that these are sobering thoughts. But there’s a lot at stake here: the eternal state of souls!
For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. (Eph 5:8-9 NLT)
So my friends, let me ask you a serious question:
In what ways is your life making Jesus attractive? Unattractive?
I’m not asking this to make you feel bad, but to help you understand the seriousness of your life’s effect on others. God will give you everything you need to make Him attractive as you abide in Christ the Vine. (2 Pet 1:3-4)
Who knows, maybe God wants to use you to turn an atheist around!
Adapted from A 30-Day Walk through the Master’s Garden, Day 15
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(NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.