Bringing
God Praise
Let your light
shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your
Father in Heaven.
John 15:8
It was Wednesday evening and the
mid-week service at church was only a half hour away. Marilyn had
planned to go straight to the church after shopping. But as she
reentered her credit card’s PIN the machine’s display once again
said ‘DECLINED’. I thought for sure I had activated
this card. Now what do I do? The grocery store didn’t accept
checks and all her money was in this single account. There wasn’t
time enough to go home, come back, and make it to church on time.
Searching her purse, Marilyn found fifteen dollars, thirteen short of
the total.
As her seventy-six year-old mind
struggled to come up with other options an attractive young woman
suddenly stepped forward, “I’ll take care of it,” she said,
swiping her card.
As the young woman turned away Marilyn
said, “You must be a Christian.”
The young lady nodded, and they both
moved to the bagging area where introductions were made. “Charlene,”
she said, intentionally withholding her last name while extending her
hand. Smiling, Marilyn promised to pay Charlene’s act of kindness
forward, making a silent vow to be on the lookout for an opportunity
to bring God glory by helping someone in need.
†
The natural progression for a
Christian’s life is one of bearing the fruit of good deeds. We are
supposed to conduct ourselves in such a way that people realize our
actions are the product of a relationship with God through Jesus
Christ. This is not something to be preferred; it should be the
motivating factor that gets us out of bed each morning.
In every occasion we are given a
choice; to serve ourselves or others. Church historian, Bernhard
Loshe, wrote, “Since we authenticate God’s salvation by our lives
and words, we can either impugn or enhance God’s reputation by bad
or good examples.”
Being on the giving end of God’s
blessing, as Charlene was, is one of the most fulfilling rewards we
will ever experience. But the most important benefit of such action
is that it brings God praise.
Prayer
“LORD,
I want the life I live to bring You praise. Help me be the light that
draws others to You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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