You Are Christ’s Letter To The Broken – Do You Make People Want To Read?

I walked over to the trash and threw the book away. Not only was the book not worth reading, but I certainly didn’t want anyone else reading it. As an avid reader, I know within the first few pages of a book if I wish to continue reading, toss it in the donation pile, or throw the book away.

From the moment people cross the threshold of our lives, they are reading our “book” of life. If they made their decision about Christ based on our lives, would they continue reading? Would our lives and how we represent (RE-present) our Savior hook them, making them want to turn each new page? Would they toss Christianity aside as dull or irrelevant? Or worse, would they throw the idea of a loving God in the trash? Brennan Manning perfectly worded it this way,

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

How we encounter those who so desperately need to know Christ is a life and death matter. As a young adolescent, I made up my mind about the church and the “god” they claimed to know.

When my life yelled, “Help me!” their marginalizing attitude screamed, “Get out!” Now, looking back on those moments, I can honestly thank God for them. Not because of the hurt but because of the healing power of understanding. In such a profound way, I relate to those who have rejected Christ because of the lack of Christ they see. Having been on the receiving side of graceless Christianity, condemning glares, blatant ignoring, and grave gossip, I mourn for those who will never know the Healer because of the hateful actions of believers.

Yes, we will ALL miss the mark. There will absolutely be times when we fail to extend grace; after all, there is only One who is perfect. But, as followers, we have to make the most of every opportunity to fulfill our primary purpose.

What is your purpose as a Christian?

If you’re alive (which is a requirement for reading this) you have a mission. An eternal mission with an everlasting crown. Your purpose = His people. Our purpose is to know Him and make Him known. Notice the order. We can’t make the one true God known on a daily basis if we don’t take the time to get to know Him intimately ourselves. The primary reason we are still walking on this beautiful earth is that there are people – His children – who He’s asking us to reach. It is a big calling, and some days it feels impossible, but there is an invaluable reward money can’t buy. The rude co-worker, the unbelieving spouse, the aggressive cashier, defiant teenager – they are not your adversary; they are your mission.

How do we fulfill this purpose?

• Make it your goal to please Him.

  Daily, we must die to self, pick up our cross, and follow Him. Our fleshly desires are a powerful thing, but when we choose to lay them down, we receive a supernatural power that allows nothing to move us and desperately wants to make Him happy.

  • 2 Corinthians 5:9 | Matthew 16:24 | Galatians 5:16 | 1 Corinthians 15:58

• Be aware of the enemy’s schemes.

  We have a real enemy who also has a purpose for our lives. It’s simple – steal, kill, destroy. His plan for your life is to steal your God-given purpose by killing your desire for Kingdom mission and destroying your witness for Christ. We must be on our guard, standing firmly behind our shield of faith.

  • 2 Corinthians 2:11 | Ephesians 6:11 | 1 Peter 5:8

• Make the most of every opportunity.

  Did you know it grieves (saddens, agonizes, causes pain) God when we choose to throw away opportunities by representing Him poorly? As Christians, held to a higher standard, we are to be “very careful in how we live and wise in the ways we act toward outsiders.” Our conversations are to be “always full of grace, seasoned with salt, and used for building them up according to their needs so that it benefits all who hear.”

  • Ephesians 5:15 | Colossians 4:5-6 | Ephesians 4:29-30

• Recognizing your fragrance.

  In the Old Testament, the fragrance of a sacrifice would rise to God. In the New Testament, Christ became that fragrant offering. As children of Light, we are called to be imitators of that same fragrance. Our lives should “smell” so good that nonbelievers want to know the name of the “perfume” we’re wearing and believers want to wear theirs’ more. This is our sacrifice to God.

  • 2 Corinthians 2:14 | Ephesians 5:1-2

• Regard no one from a worldly point of view.

  When we view others from a human point of view, we are choosing to see them through our preconceived perception, faultless expectations, and limited outside scope. When we see them from a heavenly point of view, we see the hurting soul acting on feelings of emotion they can’t control because they don’t have the Spirit to do so.

  • 1 Corinthians 5:16 | Proverbs 14:12

• Commit to not to be a stumbling block.

  In looking out for the blind, God instructed the people to “not place a stumbling block before them.” Likewise, because the enemy has blinded the lost, God gave us an identical command. Spiritually speaking, a stumbling block is any hinderance, hurdle, obstacle, or obstruction we allow that prevents them from seeing the pure grace and love of the Gospel.

  • Leviticus 19:14 | 2 Corinthians 6:3 | Romans 14:13 | Matthew 16:23

• Do everything in love.

  Love is the superglue that binds our faith together. With love, we can wage war and destroy walls of the enemy; without love, we’ve aligned ourselves with the enemy, and the battle is already lost. In rejecting God’s invitation to extend love, we are rejecting Him because He is love. Our words and actions must measure up to His love to win people for Christ. Every encounter is an invitation – a command – to love the unlovable.

  • 1 Corinthians 16:14 | Colossians 3:14 | 1 John 4:8 | Romans 12:9-10 | Proverbs 3:3-4

What is Godly love?

Love is the most powerful change agent, but the lack of love is just as powerful.

When the world rushes, love patiently waits. It responds in kindness rather than anger and frustration. Words fueled by love aren’t rude or condescending. A heart responding in love chooses to erase wrongdoings instead of pointing the finger of shame. It chooses a way of humility, refusing to boast proudly. Love never fails. It never fails to hope for the best or persevere through the worst. Love builds, not destroys.

In our encounter with others, we should aim to answer the following questions in light of love.

• Do my actions glorify God?
• Do they comfort or condemn?
• Believe or berate?
• Inspire or incite?
• Encourage or enrage?
• Healing or hateful?
• Seek to be right or seek to make Him known?
• Are my actions in response to my wants or their needs?
• Is my Christian vocabulary larger than my Christlike love?
• Am I pointing to Christ or turning others away from Him?

If we have not love, we gain nothing (1 Corinthians 13). But, if we have love, we change the world. Love is the greatest quality we have to offer.

You are God’s love letter to the world.

In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul poured out his heart reminding them – us – “you yourselves are letters, known and read by everybody. You show you are a letter from Christ, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but tablets of human hearts (2 Corinthians 3:2-4).”

Yes! We were created to be best selling novels, known and read by all. A book of love passed onto others; one that is in circulation long after we meet our Creator face to face.

The painful reality is hypocrisy is alive and thriving in the church, but it’s not new. It is the same painful sword inflicting damage as it was when Christ repeatedly rebuked it. But it doesn’t have to be. Our walk with Christ can reveal the love of God to the world for which He died. By His blood and following His way of love, we can change the world – one encounter at a time.

You are the only “Christ” someone will ever see.

Prayer

Father, change the areas that aren’t in line with you, those that don’t reflect your love. Give me eyes of mercy to see the lost and broken. Season my words with encouragement. Grant me a heart posture that seeks to carry your cross to the world. Please forgive me if my actions have ever turned someone away from you. Redeem those lost moments. Help me to follow the way of love and be the face of grace. We ask these things through the only name powerful enough to do it, Jesus. Amen!

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