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'Christ in You...'
by Dale Krebbs
How do other people respond when they are around you?
What do you think is their first impression of you? Is there something about you that draws them to you? When they are near you, do they feel at ease, comfortable, and accepted by you? When they see you, do they "light up" with anticipation of being around you?
Whatever you feel is the answer to these questions, about what they are seeing and feeling, and what you are silently emanating, is "light". It is your light until or unless the light of Jesus Christ is the source of what they see and feel when they are around you.
This world is in darkness, and always had been until Jesus Christ came and revealed the light of truth. The more profound truth is that He brought spiritual light into the darkened world. Not everyone in it is darkness, because those who believe in and belong to Jesus Christ are manifesting His light to those they come in contact with. The most powerful witness that a Christian can bring to this world is the light of the love of Jesus.
The world had never seen such light. It was so blinded that most of the world could not see. Satan had blinded the world until it could not understand or separate light from the darkness of the world. The Love for a lost world had come with the light of that truth, but the world hated it. (John 1:4-9).
If we are part of the light of Christ for the world, it will see what the light of Christ is doing. Some will believe. In many ways the witness of a Christian is much more than words. Words are in many ways dangerous. We all should handle them with care. A friend once said to me, "be careful with words, because you can't get them back." He was right. We can't unring a bell. This certainly includes me, and all those who speak or write.
But most people, most arguments to the contrary, make their decisions or rejections based on first impressions. This is just a sad truth, but in most cases it is the way we are - unless we are being led by the Holy Spirit continuously. There is a story of the preacher who finished his sermon, and a hand was raised in the back of the room. The preacher asked the person to stand up if he wanted to say something.
The person did so, and said: "who you are screams louder than what you have said!". Then what could he say?
The man who stood and said what he did had already made a decision about the preacher before he got up to preach. What he said did not matter much. The person had seen the preacher for what he was, apart from his words. The person had seen the preacher based upon a measure beyond words. To the person in the back, the preacher's light was darkness. This is the power and danger of words and actions without the corresponding radiance of the love of Christ. They can seem hollow and uncharacteristic.
Our words and actions must match who we are. Then who we are will more and more manifest the image of Christ living in and through us.
The light that will ultimately have the most positive affect of Christ on others is the love of Christ that others can see in us. The same love He had and has for all mankind. Love that radiates in an unspoken way when we are in the presence of others. If your light is not darkness to them, then it may be time for words and actions that are loving and genuine, and will be perceived as honest and real. They have seen the Light. They can now hear your words. They can now hear your words, and understand that through you - the light of your life, words, and action - Jesus is asking them to believe in Him for eternl life.
"I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, he who believes in Me [who adheres to, trusts in, relies on, and has faith in Me] has (now possesses) eternal life." (John 6:47)
Can others see Christ in you?
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a peck measure, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven." - Matthew 5:14-16
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