In the Gospel of Mark, we hear a man say something that many have a hard time saying today: “Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!” (Mark 15:33-39).
On our last day will it be said of us that, “Truly this person was God’s child?” Is our love of God and one another written all over our faces? Wonderful things start to happen when we are beaming with love. We act on opportunities for ministry that we would usually pass up. The feeling of God working through us is awesome. People look at us and can tell that there is something different about us.
The priests, elders and scribes may have been fools, but the centurion was certain about what he had seen. In this moment of Jesus’ apparent great weakness, the centurion was not fooled. He knew that he was looking at the Son of God, the Son of Man.
Are we willing to make sacrifices for the Lord while maintaining an undeniable holy glow about us? If we have truly turned to Him, the glow will come whether or not we asked for it.
I sometimes think that I don’t want to push my religion on other people. I want to think that there are times for pulling God out of my pocket and times when He needs to stay put. I have trouble expressing myself spiritually to others.
I don’t want to offend. When I am walking close with God, however, the opportunities just seem to pop up without notice and God always gives me the right words to say or shows me how to act. Opportunities for ministry are all around and easy to access.
The biggest thing that we have to overcome is our refusal to believe and obey the fact that our walk with the Lord is a minute by minute, day by day relationship. To the degree that we deviate from that, we are in proportion cheating ourselves of His full love and grace and of our ability to share it. Throughout human history it has been the simple expressions that symbolize our walk with God and remind us how to fulfill it.
One familiar song of prayer goes like this:
“Day by day, day by day, O dear Lord three things I pray. To see thee more clearly; love thee more dearly; follow thee more nearly; day by day.” AMEN.