Relatable Is Reachable

When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. Acts 13:48

Do you go through life worrying about if what you what you are going to say or do is “going to hurt your testimony.” Are you afraid of being yourself because you just don’t think you are good enough? I want to take a minute to break down these destructive lies that are keeping us from reaching the world.

I grew up in an extremely legalistic organization. Because it was located in a small town, it was a culture unto itself. I lost count of how many times I heard, “Oh, we have to be careful or we will ruin our testimony.” I knew so many who grew up terrified that something they would say or do would turn off other people to Jesus. The sad irony is that it was this very culture that made many people in the community roll their eyes. Their judgmental spirit made Christ unattractive.

I remember attending a surprise wedding shower. The bride-to-be was mortified because she was wearing a mini-skirt but let me define that for you. Any skirt that showed a glimpse of a knee was considered a mini-skirt. That sweet young woman experienced what was supposed to be a wonderful event but instead it an embarrassing one. She was red-faced throughout the evening and kept a jacket over her bare knees, apologizing for the entire hour. I overheard some of the older ladies whispering to each other, “Oh, she’s wearing a mini-skirt.” Can you imagine what an unbeliever would have thought had they been allowed to attend?

We tell our friends that Jesus paid it all so that we don’t have to but we often show them the opposite with our lives. We are all on the same sinking ship called life. The difference with God’s children is that we know we will be rescued. When its our time to die, the very first face we will see is Jesus’ face. It’s our privilege to tell the people drowning next to us about the rescue He offers all of us. But what so many of us do is pretend that the ship isn’t going down; pretend that we aren’t doomed and gasping for air. The challenge before us is this ~ we have to be relatable if our friends are going to be reachable.

Heavenly Father
Forgive me for the many instances when I’ve pretended that I was born perfect. Only You are perfect. I need You and knowing that is the first step to sharing you with other people.
In Jesus Name
Amen

Journal
Have you tried to put off a false persona to seem more holy?
What about your story can God use to reach people?
Listen to Chris Tomlin’s song, ‘Jesus Loves Me.’