Pointing Others to God
Sunday, September 13, 2009
by Dr. Paul Chappell
"And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men."
Matthew 9:2-10
Each action you take either points people to God or away from Him.
Someone once calculated how much time we spend on every-day occurrences over the span of a lifetime. Below are the results:
Sleep................23 years...........32.9%
Work.................16 years...........22.8%
TV....................8 years...........11.4%
Eating................6 years............8.6%
Travel................6 years............8.6%
Leisure.............4.5 years............6.5%
Illness...............4 years............5.7%
Dressing..............2 years............2.8%
Religion............0.5 years............0.7%
What a revelation! You will spend nearly one fourth of your life sleeping. I don't know about you, but I feel like I've been wasting time! But notice "religion"-the average person spends only six months in church services over the course of a lifetime.
Reality is that compared to other activities, we spend little time in church, even those of us who are at each service. The thought then occurs, if we only display our faith at church, how little of our life are we spending pointing others to God?
Our verses show Christ performing another miracle and taking time to teach the doubters of His heavenly power. Notice the result of His actions, "But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men." When people saw His actions, they glorified God.
What is the response of those around you to your actions? Do they look to God because of your testimony or is Heaven the last place they would look? You will spend little time in church over the course of your life, so church cannot be the only expression of your faith if you are to point others to God.
Everything Christ did pointed people to His Father. His whole earthly life could be summed up with "Not my will, but thine be done" (Luke 22:42). His purpose in life was to glorify God and every action and word He displayed pointed others to the Lord.
How do you express your faith away from church? Do you point others to God? Your pastor shouldn't be the only one who preaches the Word of God in your town; your life should show others that God is real and that He makes a difference in the lives of those who follow Him.
Commit to pointing others to God through your life today. Each action you take either points people to Christ or points them away. Determine that with God's help, you'll represent Him in your community by living a life that glorifies Him today.
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