Philemon 6 (ESV) — and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become
effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake
of Christ.
NOTE: I think we
share our faith in two ways and in two directions. In general our faith is
shared in words and also in actions (where action is a very broad category to
include love, acts of mercy, service, kindness, gentleness, compassion, etc.).
The two directions are toward unbelievers and believers. In the first case,
unbelievers are left to question their pre-conceived ideas of faith because of
the representation of our life. Hopefully, the opportunities where we live out
our faith will lead to opportunities to express words, answering questions
about our faith. For believers, we tend to call this direction fellowship and
it is equally important. Many people live worldly lives in the church -- they
really aren't any different than the world around us, and they don't encourage
people to live upright and godly lives. They don't build up the faith of
believers. The end result is sterile Christianity.
PRAYER: Father, wake
us up to the extreme importance of a witness that truly reflects a loving Jesus
Christ to believer and unbeliever alike.
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