What Does Your Life Say?

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by Randall Vinson

What does your life say to others? We sometimes hear the adage, ‘your actions speak louder than your words,’ so, if your life was on trial, what would it really announce to the courtroom? As for your words, do they carry authority, or are they just empty and full of hot air?

The Greeks of Jesus’ day liked the idea of a mystical teacher with good ideas and philosophies and teachings worthy of debate, discussion, and consideration. The apostle Paul had to deal with the very same sort of people during his visit to Athens. They were ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Tim. 3:7).

In the days of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment just a few centuries ago, many churches within mainstream Christianity felt the pressure to compete with all the other ideas that were being rediscovered from ancient Greek thought. Europe was a hotbed of philosophical debate. People began striving to make Christianity appear at least as reasonable as the new ways of thinking. This worked for only a little while, because in the process they made Christian truth just one of the many choices available. They took away its teeth and claws by making it match up with all the other philosophies and religions in the marketplace of life.

Even today, every one of the main religions outside of Christianity in some way acknowledges Jesus Christ as a great teacher or prophet, while never allowing Him the place given to Him by the Scriptures of God: the living Son of God, ruling and reigning from the right hand of the Father in heaven, the only Lord and Savior (Psalm 110:1; John 3:16; 14:6).

Jesus was the Living Word (John 1:1). When He spoke, His words carried the authority that no one else had, and this was recognized by all those who heard Him (Mark 1:22). But His words alone were not the sign that He was the expected Messiah or that the Kingdom of God had arrived. When John the Baptist sent some of his disciples to question Jesus and find out if He really was the One they were looking for, He did not hand them a doctrinal statement or a copy of one of his books. Instead, He told them to tell John the things they heard and saw: the blind saw, the lame walked, the lepers were cleansed, the deaf heard, the dead were raised, and the poor had the Gospel preached to them (Matt. 11:2-5). The people had never seen anything like the works of Jesus before (Mark 2:11,12). In other words, His mighty works were the sign that the Kingdom of God was present and active and that He was the expected Messiah.

There is no reason why this demonstration of the Spirit and of power should not be continued in all of God’s churches to this day (Heb. 2:4; 1 Cor. 2:4,5). Consider this: Are you full of ideas and teachings and opinions? Do your words come out just as another reasonable or interesting point of view, or are your words carried along by the authority of God? It doesn’t take a seminary education for this to be true; it takes a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ based upon receiving the love of the truth. What comes out of your life and family? What is the fruit of your relationship with God? People cannot recognize the truth of the Gospel unless they see it embodied in your life and in your church.