“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27, NIV 1984).

 

                                                 “Hatta ya rah Feekah Yasoo.”

 

This is the closest I can come phonetically to the song sung recently by Arabic Christians serving God through H.O.M.E. (Health Outreach to the Middle East): “Let others see Jesus in you.” I was a guest at their banquet in Washington, D.C. and was amazed at their dedication toward bringing people to Christ through healthcare ministry. These followers of Christ are living out these words as they sing them. They are living what they believe. Others will see Jesus in them.

 

What does it take to live what we believe? What does it take to let others see Jesus in me?

What does it take for our beliefs to burrow beneath the cerebral cortex of our lives into our speech centers and motor neurons, so that Jesus may be seen and heard in our lives? These questions carry other big questions on their shoulders:

 

1. First of all, do I believe what I think?

This is what I think: I, like the rest of the world, am broken and lost because of my sin. I will die eternally separated from God if I do not trust Jesus as my Savior and choose Him as my Lord.

 

I think this sincerely, but there is a huge space between thinking a thought and believing the thought. This space is bridged by the word “commitment.” Am I committed with my life to this truth that I think? As Donald Hankey put it, “True religion is betting one’s life there is a God.” Am I betting my life that the gospel is true, or, am I just acknowledging it with my head?

 

2. And then, do I believe what I think about others?

 

Is the truth for us the truth for those we know? If the gospel is ‘life betting” truth for us, is it also “lifesaving” truth for them? I suspect this question stops more Christians than any other.

 

3. And then, will I act on what I believe?

 

If I am committed to this gospel truth, both for myself and for those I know, will I be intentional about living it out and speaking it out, deliberately seeking ways to do so?

 

Can I shatter the inertia of my culture and live it out? Can I set aside that ball game, set aside that lifestyle choice, set aside that security, take on that difficult relationship, take the personal risk and act on my belief to speak the only message that lasts forever? This requires a deliberate decision on my part and depends upon the power of God’s Spirit to drag me out of the fast-moving-stream-to-nowhere that our culture calls normal.

 

4. And then, as I act, will I trust?

 

Through it all, we must let God’s Spirit move through our lives without our interference. Others can see Jesus in us only if we move out of the way and let Jesus introduce Himself. Have we surrendered to letting God be visible in our lives, letting God be heard from our lips, whatever the cost, listening for His leading and dependent on His power to transform?

 

“Hatta ya rah Feekah Yassoo.”

 

Dear God,

Let others see Jesus in me.

Amen