Is Your Jesus Showing?

We were standing in line waiting to board our flight. This lady behind us starts yelling at her husband because he had misplaced his boarding pass. She told him to go back to retrieve it. He was obviously embarrassed. She made the scene no less humiliating. She continued to make degrading remarks. We tried to calm her down suggesting that they just speak with a gate agent. That was pointless. She continued to rant as he scurried away in search of his boarding pass. She then proceeded to board the plane even though he had not yet returned. A few minutes later, he rushed down the breezeway with boarding pass in his hand. She continued to demean him. Other passengers looked away in pity for her husband and in appall at his wife.

How do you get to such a place of disrespect and disgust in your marriage? Did she ever love and respect him? Did she ever admire and honor him? It was hard to tell. We couldn’t imagine that this woman had a relationship with the Lord with such a reproachful public display.

…But maybe she did. Far too often, Christians act in ways that do not glorify our God. Yet we expect others to embrace Him. Countless stories have been told of couples arguing at a restaurant, fighting in the street, displaying animosity at church, cursing each other fiercely, clothes tossed on the front lawn, tires slashed, windows broken out, and the list goes on. And yet, we sing praises to his name.

And God’s heart is broken.

His word is to us, first. How can we witness; but with our lives. We cannot wear Christ to church and shed Him in “real life”. We must always be God conscious. Wives are expected to respect their husbands. Husbands are commanded to love their wives. Obedience to God’s word is not optional for His children. It’s our meat. In doing so, we are an example to those that don’t know the Lord. Our lives must point to Christ. We can’t forget who we are or who we represent when we are faced with a relationship challenge.

The Bible tells us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal weapons. We cannot act in the flesh and think that we are pleasing to God (Romans 8:8). The carnal mind is in direct opposition to God. We must walk in the Spirit. This requires dying to self daily. We must decrease and allow Christ to increase in us. We must continually ask ourselves “Is Jesus visible? Can others see Him in me?” If I am truly His child, what should my response be? The world is watching. God is watching. How will you live?