Now, while I do not believe that we should manipulate people into accepting Christ, we are called to represent Him. We do not have to convince people of who Jesus is, but we are responsible for telling people everything about Him. Essentially, we are all walking advertisements for Christianity. Unfortunately, I don’t think I am as good at advertising as the folks at Doritos or Chevrolet. So what I can I do to be better at marking my faith? I wish there was a guide or something.
1. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4 NIV) - So, in order to effectively show people what my faith is all about I need to be full of joy, and let it be known that I am rejoicing in His name.
2. Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23) - I need to be able to share my story about my Jesus with people in a variety of ways so that it can be relatable to their lives.
3. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27 NIV) - I need to look after orphans and widows, help the poor and the hungry, and live life as a true servant. I also need to be pure and avoid letting the world pollute who I am.
4. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:22 NIV) - And, last but not least, I need to practice what I preach.
Oh, well, that was pretty helpful. Apparently there is a guide.
Evidently, in order to effectively market my faith, I need to act like a Christian. If I am living out my faith as I am commanded, people will see Christ in my life and want what I have. That sounds simple enough.
The problem is that I am not always the Christian that I want to be. I get bogged down with the hustle and bustle of life and forget to rejoice. I tend to hang out with people that are already believers. And there are times where I am caught not practicing what I preach.
The good news is that I know what I should be doing. I know what will effectively spread the gospel within my community and throughout the world. While creativity will be helpful, I need nothing more than obedience to make an impact. Unlike those slackers writing Super Bowl commercials, I have a formula for what works. Now it is up to me to make sure I follow it.
How do you market your faith?