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The 2014 Winter Olympic Games have recently concluded. There were more than a few surprises during
the games, but sadly, it was no surprise that controversy erupted over the
judging of the figure skating events.
International figure skating competition has been marred in recent years
by accusations of fixed judging, and indeed, documented instances of judges
“selling” their power have surfaced.
This is nothing short of a crisis for the international skating federation,
the governing body in charge of judging international skating
competitions. The sport depends on
honest, unbiased judging because the world is watching.
The Bible echoes this sentiment. Jesus teaches that His people are lights on a
hill; our purpose is to be shining so that those who look—the world—can see our
Lord and Master. The Apostle Paul
exhorts us to be beyond reproach, again so that we may make the grace and truth
of Jesus Christ visible, tangible, and attractive to those who do not know
Him. The world is watching.
Many Christians take this concept seriously, but some of us,
and perhaps most of us at times, get seriously off track by focusing on
appearances. Knowing that the world is
watching, we want to look good. And
given that we live in a culture that confuses success with appearance of
success, it is very easy to buy the lie that being a “good” Christian witness
means that we carefully maintain a smiling, calm, put-together look.
What does success look like for a Christian? I think we need to look a little deeper than
appearances. Genuine Christianity, the
kind of Christianity that draws people to Christ, is more than smile deep. Jesus is the vine, and we are the
branches. We are able to bear fruit, to
live a fruitful life, only as we abide in Him, as we consistently and
persistently follow our Lord and Master.
And not only is Jesus our Master, He is our Model. We are told that Jesus was not handsome, not
much to look at. When we examine the
countless interactions between Jesus and the disciples, Jesus and the Jewish
authorities, and Jesus and the general public, we see anything and everything
except Christianity Lite. Jesus
struggled and suffered so that He could relate to us and we to Him. He was accompanied by a rag-tag group of
disciples who would never be accepted by traditional rabbis. Jesus and His disciples were not credentialed
or polished. Jesus often made those He
encountered uncomfortable. Nowhere do we
see Jesus trying to impress anyone.
Proclaiming Christ—in what we say and do, what choices we
make—is about looking good. It is far more about being good. The pretense of
an ideal, put-together Christian life only goes so far. Jesus taught that we are not defiled by what
we put into our mouths, but rather by what comes out. Our words are a manifestation of what is in
our hearts. When all is said and done,
our actions manifest who we are, inside.
The hard truth is that looking good is not good enough. Our Lord wants nothing short of a deep
holiness in us resulting in genuine spiritual integrity. The world is watching.
How do we achieve such holiness and spiritual
integrity? We could simply try harder:
pray more fervently, focus more intently on Bible study, memorize more verses, serve
on more committees. Those activities may
not be bad, but they will get us to holiness and spiritual integrity only if in
the attempt we realize that we can’t do it, and that it is only by faith that
we can be holy. Our own efforts can
achieve only the appearance of goodness.
If we want the “real deal” of holiness, we must depend on the work of
Christ, on our behalf, in us, and through us.
So how do we proclaim Christ to the world? I would suggest that we worry less about how
we appear and focus more on abiding in the Vine, trotting alongside our Master,
and taking our cues from our Model.
There is nothing better in this life, and nothing more important. The world is watching.
