“Our God Is an Awesome God,” but do our lives show it?

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”

Isaiah 40:28, NIV

I’ve been studying the gospel of Luke in my daily time in the Word. The beginning carries all those very familiar stories about the birth of John the Baptist and of Jesus. And, yet, even in those familiar stories God has been teaching me new things.

Take the story of the angels visiting the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus. I’m sure you’re familiar with it:

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over
their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of
the Lord shone around them and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,
‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the
Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in
a manger.” Luke 2:8-12, NIV

Nothing new there, right?

Wrong. At least wrong for me. For the first time I noticed that the angel never actually told the shepherds to go to Jerusalem to find this baby. He just told them who it was who was born and how they could recognize him. Then the angel seemed to just assume that once the shepherds knew this great news they’d want to go to find such a person. No need to tell them to do so.

And go they did. And they didn’t just go; they hurried off to find him. How could they not? A Savior? The promised Messiah? The Lord? Someone whose coming “will cause great joy for all the people”? They quickly left their sheep and hurried off to find the Lamb of God and the one who would shepherd his people Israel.

Now, realizing that the angel did not specifically tell the shepherd to go find Jesus may not seem like such an amazing revelation. Perhaps not, but it did get me thinking.

Should our evangelism look more like this?

Should we be focused more on telling people how amazing Jesus is and on showing that in our lives? If we did that, would more people hurry to find him?

I’m not saying that we won’t have conversations with people about their need to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. But I wonder if more of our conversations should focus on talking about how great Jesus is.

And, since actions speak louder than words, shouldn’t our lives show just how great Jesus is?

If we say that Jesus is Lord, do we live in a way that fulfills his will?

If we say that Jesus gives us joy (John 15:11), does that joy flow out in our attitude and our actions? Is it visible to those around us?

If we say that Jesus gives us peace (John 14:27), do we live that peace or are our lives full of worry and complaint?

If we say . . .

You get the idea, I hope.

I’m learning, again, just how much my daily life—my attitude, my actions, and my words—tell people what I really believe about Jesus. And if those things speak louder than my simplistic invite, “You really need to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior,” then I wonder if I am giving people a good enough reason to hurry to find him. Have I really shown them just how amazing Jesus is and how amazing it is to have a relationship with him?

Soul Refreshers for your week:

• I pray that you’ll be able to and that you’ll be willing to take some time this week to think about how amazing Jesus is. First, just bask in that knowledge and in the knowledge that that amazing Jesus loves you. Then ask yourself if that knowledge of Jesus is reflected in your life.
• Consider the other members of the Trinity as well. Reading through Isaiah 40 is a great place to start as you consider the Father. And John 14:15-26 will tell you a lot about the Spirit.

We’d love to hear from you. What do you find amazing about Jesus? Add your comment below.