A Public Witness

“And so, when the servant of Abraham heard their words he bowed down in worship to Yahweh.”
(Genesis 24:52)

 

Take notice at how many times this servant praises or worships God for his provision and for his grace. That is a fabulous thing, but is it not convicting to us? How often we neglect to praise God for his good works in our lives or we wait until a more “convenient” time. Here, the servant of Abraham bows before the Lord right there in the presence of everyone around. He does not worry about their reaction, their impression of him, or whether they will join him or not. He doesn’t even invite them to join in anything formal, but he simply bows before the Lord and worships.

How different the world would look were Christians to behave in this way, neither afraid or intimidated to kneel even in a crowded place and give God thanks for both big and small things. How different this world would look were Christians to pray with others on the spot, not afraid of the responses of onlookers, rather than to vaguely commit to praying for another and then going on their way without a second thought. How interesting it is that Eliezer, who is a relatively minor figure in these accounts, can teach us so much about living out the Christian life — he has clearly learned much by watching Abraham live out his faith. I wonder how much people learn about the Christian walk by watching us live out our own faith.

Whether we like it or not, the world is watching our lives and behavior and sadly what the world has often seen from Christians is that our lives look no different than any other person who walks the streets. In fact, I think that one of the the things that is attracting a younger generation to false religions like Islam and Mormonism is that they see a difference in the way these people live. Sad. Friends, may we too be intentional about living out our faith publicly as well as privately and may Christ be glorified in our witness, even that witness that takes place in the things that we do even apart from the words we use.

 

About preacherwin

A pastor, teacher, and a theologian concerned about the confused state of the church in America and elsewhere...Writing because the Christian should think Biblically.

Posted on November 14, 2012, in Expositions and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.

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