Let Jesus be Seen

A Christian friend often says to other believers who are fearful, “Remember who you are.” I think of him when reading today’s verse.

 . . . and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. (1 Corinthians 3:23)

This verse is courage to those who know You, because by knowing You, what or who can harm us? We have Your Spirit as our strength and guide here on earth, and if harm should threaten, we know that You will take us to our eternal home.  

So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)

Tonight we watched the memorial service in Tucson for the victims of last Saturday’s shooting, an event we have followed on the news every day since it happened. We have heard many of those close to this tragedy declare their faith in You. Some have shared that loved ones who died also trusted You. It struck me as I listened to them and read these verses the significance of knowing who I am in Christ. How else can I put others first?

Two elderly couples were in the line of fire. Both of the men dove to protect their wives. One of them died doing so. His daughters declared that now he is walking with Jesus.

A tiny woman saw the gunman stop to reload. She dove at him and grabbed the second clip of ammunition, yanking it out of his hands. A white-haired man leaped on the gunman, and helped by a second retiree, they held him to the ground.

Several people rushed into the scene, not away from it. More than one of them immediately applied pressure to wounds, saving lives. The congress woman who was shot in the head is still alive because one man was not afraid to come to her aid and stay with her until help arrived.

Another man said that he was not a praying person, but when his loved one was hit, someone came to him, held his hand and prayed. He was deeply moved by this action of a stranger.

In the memorial service, several speakers read Scripture, including the Attorney General of the United States who had no words of his own, and the President who also spoke of You.

How many of these people know You? From what I heard and saw, many. By that, they ignored their own selves and even their own safety. They ignored politics and rhetoric. Obviously, some of them know the One who watches over them and their destination. They know You and to whom they belong.

Spurgeon had some interesting observations on this fragment of a verse. This is what You said to me as I read it . . . 

It is a sin to be overly modest about what You have bestowed upon me for the good of others. You do not intend that I be a village in a valley, but “a city set upon a hill.” You didn’t light my life so I could hide it under a bushel, but to share it with others. To hide my sinful self is fine, but to hide You who lives in me can never be justified. Further, keeping back truth which is precious to me is a sin against others and an offence against You also. Even as an introverted person, You do not want me to indulge my reticence lest I am useless to the church and to Your kingdom. In Your name and because You are not ashamed of me, I need to ignore and even sit on my feelings — and tell others what You have told me. If I cannot speak or write with great eloquence, then I must use the still small voice. You may not give me a pulpit nor many publishers, but I must still say as Peter and John said, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee.”

If I cannot stand on a mountain, I can speak by a well or in a house or at a mall. If I cannot praise You in the marketplace, then I can do it in a garden or a field. If I cannot talk to the world, I can talk to the neighbor next door, or my grandchildren. I am not to hide the little talent that I have, but trade with it so You gain the interest of others.

You may never call me to dive in front of a bullet, but I must not let any fear — of bullets, or other people, or anything else — stop me from letting Your virtue be seen in my life.

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