Is There Evidence of God in Our Lives?

 Many years ago, there was a saying floating around, “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Every now and then, this phrase will pop up in church sermons or Bible studies. Last Sunday during the service, the sermon was on Daniel and his stance against eating the king’s food and drinking his wine. As Pastor Ben pointed out, Daniel had several reasons to avoid the food and drink, but most of all, Daniel wanted the Babylonian officials to test his faith. After 10 days of eating vegetables and drinking water (hence the Daniel diet), Daniel, Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego were healthier than the other young people. Their faith was tested during a difficult time, and others saw God’s hand in their lives. [Daniel 1]

Our faith cannot be tested when life is going great. If our lives are absolutely perfect, no illnesses ever, no problems with finances, children are perfect angels, or our spouses are the ideal mates, then we need to check our relationship with Christ. No problems, perfect life…the Evil One has us exactly where he wants us.

It is through challenges, struggles, and problems that our faith can grow when we put it in God’s hands. How we respond to life’s problems when we have a relationship with GOD and CHRIST is far different than those who do not have a relationship. Having a relationship with GOD and CHRIST does not mean there will never be any difficulties in life ever. Oh, My Friend, there will be difficulties often. We are either going through difficulties, in the middle of them, or coming out of them.

A relationship with GOD is not simply saying, “There is a god, and he will never let bad things happen to anyone. He loves everyone, and no one will ever go to Hell.”  Wrong…. (That is a topic for another day.)

To have a relationship with GOD, we must first have a relationship with his Son, JESUS CHRIST. We cannot have one without the other. This relationship is not one that we just seek when things are going bad. CHRIST isn’t Advil that we take when we have a headache. Just as you must grow your relationship with your children or spouse, you must grow your relationship with CHRIST. This isn’t a short term process. It is a lifetime goal. 

So…back to the title. When we have a strong relationship with GOD and CHRIST, it is evident. Others will see how we react when things are going south. Our children our spouses, our neighbors, our co-workers, or the stranger in the car next to ours will see our reactions when things aren’t perfect or our teams are losing the game. We should never want anyone to say, “Do Christians act like that?” If we behave wrongly, then we must apologize to those who see it,  ask for forgiveness, and strive to do better with GOD’s help.

Christians aren’t perfect; we are works in progress. When we are obedient to GOD’s call, others will see the evidence. When we avoid the call, they will see that too.

The following are a few take-aways from Sunday’s sermon:

We are in the world to win the world.

We should be displaying our faith more than defending it.

We think we have faith until it is tested.

A test is not meant to destroy something but to check and see if it is what it says it is. 

**Let’s change the wording of the last sentence:

A test is not meant to destroy us, but it will check and see if we are who we say we are. 

A test can be our own health problems or those of our children. They can be problems at work or in the marriage. Whatever your test is, ask for GOD to lead you through the test, to support you when you can’t stand, to comfort you when you don’t feel like you can go on….and to rejoice with you when prayers are answered.

That is what a relationship looks like, being together during the good and the bad.

When the test is over, don’t put GOD back on the shelf like a genie in the bottle. Keep GOD visible, show CHRIST to those around you, be the LIGHT in this dark, lonely, confusing, conflicted world.

Let the evidence in your life show that you are the SALT and LIGHT, Matthew 5:13-16


Thank you for reading. Love in Christ, PB



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