If someone you have never met spent a month observing your life—paying attention to the things you say, how you treat others, what you invest your time in doing, the values you embrace—would they see a reflection of Jesus Christ?
This was the question I asked in my Bible class with the Southside Church last Sunday morning, as we discussed reading the Bible and embodying the gospel. Consider the two following passages of scripture:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:8-101
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
As a Christian, you have been saved by grace through faith so that you may live a life of good works. The life of good works is what I mean when I talk about embodying the gospel—the good news of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. There is plenty of space for discernment about the particulars of what such an embodiment of the gospel requires, but it has to do with our lives reflecting the life of Jesus Christ.
“Your life as a Christian should make non-believers question their disbelief in God.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Thankfully, God has given you scripture to teach you about embodying the gospel and thus living a life of good works. Scripture is not given so that you can solve all kinds of philosophical and theological puzzles. Likewise, scripture is not given so that you can use it as a weapon to beat those you disagree with in a game of What Does the Bible Teach. There is nothing wrong with reflecting on scripture so that you may know the truth and not be misled by false teachings. But at the end of the day, scripture is given so that you may live as a faithful embodiment of the gospel.
I go into more detail about what I am saying here in the book I wrote.2 My point is that you need scripture because you are a follower of Jesus Christ. Nobody, myself especially, faithfully embodies the gospel all the time. Everyone, including myself and you, is still learning and will continue to learn how to follow Jesus. Don’t give up. Continue following so that others may encounter the God revealed in Jesus Christ. As the late Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “Your life as a Christian should make non-believers question their disbelief in God.”
Every day, numerous things vie for your attention. Or at least they do for me, so I’ll assume they do for you also. Many of these matters are not inherently evil. However, satan still wants to use such items to distract you. The distractions are meant to keep you from giving your undivided attention to the good works for which you have received scripture, so that you may learn to do those good works. Jesus said, “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matt 10:16, RSV). It takes intentionality to remain focused on following Jesus Christ.
Intentionality. Be intentional with what you do. Be intentional with the things you say. Be intentional with what you post on social media. Be intentional in how you treat the people you encounter. Be intentional in wanting people to see Jesus Christ in you. Even if they don’t know who Jesus Christ is, be intentional anyway. Then, when God opens space for you to share the good news of Jesus Christ, they’ll recognize that good news as your way of life too.
Don’t worry. You don’t have to go it alone because God has given you His Spirit so that you may have the strength to live as a reflection of Jesus Christ.
So I’ll leave you with this question again… If someone you have never met spent a month observing your life—paying attention to the things you say, how you treat others, what you invest your time in doing, the values you embrace—would they see a reflection of Jesus Christ?
Grace and Peace to you! – Rex
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
K. Rex Butts, Gospel Portraits: Reading Scripture as Participants in the Mission of God, Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2022.
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Author: K. Rex Butts
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