How do you know I'm a Christian?

A Sunday school teacher was trying to make the point that good Christians don’t keep their faith a secret. With her head held high and her chest thrust out, the teacher strutted impressively back and forth across the room. She asked, “Now, class, why do you think people call me a Christian?” The room was silent for a moment until one of the boys slowly raised his hand and said, “Probably because they don’t know you.” (story from Youth Talks)

Witnessing for Jesus means living for Him, not just talking about Him. We don’t have to have a title like Pastor, Deacon, or Sunday school teacher to bring others to Jesus. We don’t have to be a leader, but we do need to be a follower – a disciple of Christ.

Jesus chastised the religious leaders of His day for saying one thing, but doing another. Like the Sunday school teacher in the story above, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day were pompous and self-righteous. They thought their title was their ticket to Heaven. But Jesus knew what was in their hearts. He called them “white-washed tombs” and hypocrites. Their daily lives and actions didn’t stack up against their teaching.

While we can fool people, we can’t fool Jesus. He knows every thought and intent of our heart. He knows when our words and actions don’t measure up. Since He holds our ticket to Heaven, what He thinks and desires of us matters most.

Jesus wants us to demonstrate humility in our daily living. We are not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. We are all sinners and in need of a Savior. If we treat others with dignity and respect, we will do more to communicate Christ to a lost world than all the sermons in the world.