When Rachel was at Lipscomb University she twice went to Bucharest, Romania with a group of students and faculty. After we were married I went there with her for a month. While there, we worked with a church to teach English to and study the Bible with interested Romanians. We volunteered in local orphanages-things like that.
I remember her talking about what it was like to travel the streets of Bucharest with a large group of American students. When I was there with her, I got to witness it first hand. Let's just say that the Americans didn't blend in very well. I'm sure it was obvious to everyone at first sight that we weren't Romanian. The way we dressed, the way we walked and our overstuffed backpacks, everything about us made us stand out.
I remember sitting in an Ice Cream parlor in downtown Bucharest. This was not a filthy place. (It was a Baskin Robbins, for Pete's sake.) But you can imagine the funny looks we got from the locals when two team members reached into their voluminous packs and commenced to bathe their arms up to the elbows in disinfectant.
And then we would start talking. Rather loudly it turns out. On the Metro, we filled a third of a car with our conversation. And on top of that someone had the idea to start singing devotional songs. Romanians began to edge toward the opposite side of the car as their normally subdued commute became a symphony.
Let me be clear. There's nothing wrong with singing. Singing is good. I like devotional songs. And I'm all for people talking to one another. And there's nothing wrong with a little personal hygiene. And these students were giving up there summer to serve others and tell them about Jesus. And people got to see God's mercy in them. I really respect that.
But the challenging question for us is this: "If we were representing Jesus, what kind of picture were the citizens of Bucharest getting?" The ones who saw us on the street would probably say that Jesus is a nicely dressed, outspoken young person who is preoccupied with infection and who is prone to burst into spontaneous song.
The question should at least give us pause. Because we have to ask the same question of ourselves this morning. When people see us every day, do they get a good idea of who Jesus is? Does our behavior represent him well? That's certainly a sobering thought. Sometimes I think I've done okay. Sometimes I've failed miserably. Either way I need the reminder that Paul gives us this morning:
...And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17).
I remember her talking about what it was like to travel the streets of Bucharest with a large group of American students. When I was there with her, I got to witness it first hand. Let's just say that the Americans didn't blend in very well. I'm sure it was obvious to everyone at first sight that we weren't Romanian. The way we dressed, the way we walked and our overstuffed backpacks, everything about us made us stand out.
I remember sitting in an Ice Cream parlor in downtown Bucharest. This was not a filthy place. (It was a Baskin Robbins, for Pete's sake.) But you can imagine the funny looks we got from the locals when two team members reached into their voluminous packs and commenced to bathe their arms up to the elbows in disinfectant.
And then we would start talking. Rather loudly it turns out. On the Metro, we filled a third of a car with our conversation. And on top of that someone had the idea to start singing devotional songs. Romanians began to edge toward the opposite side of the car as their normally subdued commute became a symphony.
Let me be clear. There's nothing wrong with singing. Singing is good. I like devotional songs. And I'm all for people talking to one another. And there's nothing wrong with a little personal hygiene. And these students were giving up there summer to serve others and tell them about Jesus. And people got to see God's mercy in them. I really respect that.
But the challenging question for us is this: "If we were representing Jesus, what kind of picture were the citizens of Bucharest getting?" The ones who saw us on the street would probably say that Jesus is a nicely dressed, outspoken young person who is preoccupied with infection and who is prone to burst into spontaneous song.
The question should at least give us pause. Because we have to ask the same question of ourselves this morning. When people see us every day, do they get a good idea of who Jesus is? Does our behavior represent him well? That's certainly a sobering thought. Sometimes I think I've done okay. Sometimes I've failed miserably. Either way I need the reminder that Paul gives us this morning:
...And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17).