Not Just for Show

“Ma’am!” the young man working in the back yard called. “Your sundial is in the shade! You can’t use it to tell time if it’s in the shade!”

“Oh, I don’t expect it to tell time,” I explained. “I only wanted something to decorate that old stump. It’s just there for show.”

“Just for show,” I mused. I wonder how much of my Christian demeanor is genuine, Spirit-directed, and useful for pointing to Jesus, the Light of the world—and how much is just for show?

Just for show. Can it be that some of the criticism directed toward Christian believers is justified? “You act superior,” someone says. “You act like no one has quite as good a connection to God as you have. You act as though some spiritual experience or accomplishment demonstrates your excellence in the Kingdom of God.”

Can this be true? Do we ever attempt to use the power and presence of God to prove somehow our own significance or superiority? This is so wrong! “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (II Corinthians 4:7 NIV)

It is true that God chooses a certain kind of person to be of value in the Kingdom, but it is not the “superior” kind that one might suppose! This is what the Apostle Paul says. “God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose those who are low born [margin], things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. (I Corinthians 1:27-29 NLT)

It’s plain in the Scripture that nothing in God’s eternal plan is just for show. No manifestation of power, spiritual wisdom, gifts or graces is just for show. We are His workmanship, “created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” We were not designed to pose prettily, but to function effectively in sharing the Good News. Are we content to be part of the décor like my non-functional sundial, or will we give ourselves to purposeful ministry in the place God has put us?

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Scripture quotation marked NIV is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotation marked NLT is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com