Last week, I had to go to Midland for a conference, and then on to Austin later that week for another conference. On the first day of the conference in Austin, my car window died just after I had lowered it to get my ticket in the parking garage. Since it was thirty-four degrees, and I did not want to drive home with a window down, I looked for the nearest Nissan dealer and drove my truck to get repaired. While at the dealer, I struck up a number of conversations with people. One of the people I met was the manager of the dealership. We discussed a number of things, and I mentioned that I was a Christian. Later, when I returned to the dealer, he came up to me and said, “You really are a Christian.” I did not immediately connect his comment to the one that I had with him on my first visit. I asked him what he meant by that. His response caught me off guard. He said he had gone to my truck and looked to see what music I played. When he turned the radio on, it was set to a Christian station in Austin. This manager had gone out of his way to go to the service area and see if my life and my words matched up. He was looking for authentic Christianity.
The world is watching you and me more carefully than you may realize. They are listening to our words, but they are also listening to the message our lives are sending. Paul wrote in Philippians 1:27, “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” The world wants to know that we are conducting our lives in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. This man equated the music that someone listens to as the acid test of faith. Jesus said in John 13 that we are to love one another, and “by this all men will know that you are My disciples if you love one another.” Love is the best proof that we are true believers. What kind of message is your life preaching? Does your walk match your talk? Let’s live our lives in a manner worthy of the gospel.