…the friend of the
bridegroom… —John 3:29
“Goodness and purity should
never be traits that draw attention to themselves, but should simply be magnets
that draw people to Jesus Christ. If my holiness is not drawing others to Him,
it is not the right kind of holiness; it is only an influence which awakens
undue emotions and evil desires in people and diverts them from heading in the
right direction. A person who is a beautiful saint can be a hindrance in
leading people to the Lord by presenting only what Christ has done for him,
instead of presenting Jesus Christ Himself. Others will be left with this
thought— “What a fine person that man is!” That is not being a true “friend of
the bridegroom”— I am increasing all the time; He is not.” CHAMBERS
I was leaving work yesterday,
when I happened to see two co-workers.
One of them I do not know well.
For some reason she asked me what I had done before I worked as a
computer engineer with the Air Force. I
told her I had been on the mission field for 10 years. Her response was, “I had no idea.” In fact she said it three times. As I drove home I could not help but wonder, “Why
did she have no idea?” Is it because I
was not being a true friend to the Bridegroom?
That people at work don’t see enough Jesus in me? I don’t mean that I should be more
preachy. But does my behavior at work “mark”
me as someone who is different from the world?
Or am I viewed like everyone else?
True, I have never spoken to her beyond typical work conversations, but
does my reputation precede me?
Yesterday morning, I got
ready for work, before sun-up, which is typical for me. ( I write these devotions before I go to
work) Martie bought some dry shampoo for me so I don’t have to wash my hair so
often. Well, I reached into the cabinet,
grabbed a can and sprayed the contents into my hair. When I looked at the can, and saw that it was
red and not white, I realized that I had just sprayed a healthy portion of the
Old Spice body spray my granddaughter have given me at Christmas. The aroma filled the bathroom. Fortunately, I had the dry shampoo to lessen
the consequence of my inattention. My desire is that the same way that the
aroma from the body spray filled that bathroom, that the aroma of Christ will
fill my work cubicle. (2 Corinthians
2:15-16) “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved
and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to
the other a fragrance from life to life.”
All too often, Christians
will cover the aroma up, like I did with the dry shampoo, and people around us
don’t know who we belong to, and we avoid fulfilling our purpose. Don’t let that be you. ELGIN
Charley Elgin
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