Do you live a life that matters? Are you leading people to Christ by your words and actions? How we live our lives matter. We are to live out what we preach in every word, deed, and interaction we have. Our lives must match up with the name Christian. We cannot claim to know God and then live in a way that denies him, otherwise we are becoming a faulty witness of who God is.

“They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works.” Titus 1:16 HCSB

The Way We Live Matters

• The choices we make
• The way we treat people
• The way we serve, or don’t serve
• The words we use
• The people we chose to love
• The people we secretly hate

We can continue to list things, actions, intentions, but ultimately the point I am making is this; the way we live matters because we are ambassadors of Christ.

When an ambassador is selected by one country to be sent to another, they are given the title “plenipotentiary”. This is a big word used by the government and probably won’t make its way into your daily vernacular, but its definition is pretty interesting. To be bestowed the title plenipotentiary, means that the government of that particular country is giving you the power and ability to speak on their behalf.

Whoa. That’s a pretty big deal. Think about it, an ambassador is given the right to speak with that government authority. If things go wrong, wars could be started, and conflicts inflamed. This is no small responsibility, and not one that should be taken lightly.

In the same way that some individuals are given the responsibility and honor to be an ambassador of their home country, as followers of Christ we become his ambassadors. We take on the plenipotentiary power of Christ’s name by being called Christians, which translated from the Greek term “Christianos”, can mean “followers of Christ”, “People of Christ”, or even “Little Christs”. We are connected to and share his name.

By bearing the name Christian, we become the spokesmen and women of Jesus. For good or for bad.

Living a Life of Hypocrisy

And this is what we see happening in the passage from Titus. Paul is rebuking the religious leaders for proclaiming the name of God, but then living oppositional lives. Their words didn’t match up with their lifestyle. “They profess to know God,” They talk about their affiliation, they carry the title of being a follower, “but they deny Him by their works.”This is the very definition of hypocrisy; saying one thing, living something completely different.

How we live our lives matter. We are to live out what we preach in every word, deed, and interaction we have. Our lives must match up with the name Christian. We cannot claim to know God and then live in a way that denies him, otherwise we are becoming a faulty witness of who God is.

In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul tells his followers to “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” This is really interesting, because at first glance we may feel opposed to this thought. People should only follow Jesus, right? But think about it for a moment. The Christian life is one in which we are supposed to become more and more like Christ. It is a journey towards Christlikeness, as we say. And therefore, Paul is acknowledging that our very lives, in continuity with our words, becomes a testimony to the transformational power of who Jesus is and what He has done for us.

Just like an ambassador, we become an emissary of who Christ is here and now. There is an old saying, “The best way to lead is by example.” People are supposed to follow your example. Therefore, this begs the question; if someone follows you, where are you leading them? Are you leading them towards Christ or away from Christ? Paul realizes that if we’re doing this right, people should be able to look at our lives and begin to see Jesus. This is how we live a life that matters; by leading them toward Christ.

Your Life Matters

The choices you make today are important. Your actions will either help give credibility to or take away from Jesus. We are all ambassadors of Christ and our lives will pay tribute to Jesus either positively or negatively.

You are leading people every day that you’re alive. Make sure you’re leading them to Christ.

Prayer

Father God, help us to live a life that reflects you. May our lives be an example of Jesus, and may we continually be leading people to know and love you more. In Jesus name, amen.

This devotion originally appeared on Devotable written by Matthew Spear

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