Choose to Shine
Living a joy-filled life is the best witnessing tool you have! You can serve food at a soup kitchen, pass out literature, sing in nursing homes, or volunteer at homeless shelters, and all those things are good to do, but if you do it with a frown on your face, you will draw an inaccurate picture of who Jesus is and will miss out on the real joy of serving. God wants you to be a living witness. How others see you live speaks louder than if you preached a three-hour sermon. Are you kind, considerate, and compassionate, or are you selfish, always looking out for number one? Are you striving for a higher position at work, willing to step on others to get ahead? Are you wanting recognition for your accomplishments? Do you seek attention so that others can see your good works?
Looking out for number one is not living the example Christ gave when it comes to serving others. You can be certain of this: selfishness will only shine light on ‘you,’ and it will prevent you from being a shining light for Christ. If you’re always seeking to be first, remember that at the foot of the cross, the ground is level. No one is lower or higher than you - except Jesus! The Bible tells us in Matthew 23:12, “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Shining for Christ means that others can see Jesus in you! Serve with humility, grace, and love. God sees even the smallest act of kindness, and He accepts these acts as if you were doing them for Him personally. Matthew 25:40 says, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” And Philippians 2:3-4 gives us this counsel: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Text: Ephesians 5:8, Daniel 12:3, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Acts 13:47
