I have written on numerous occasions about the fact that the Christian life is different from the worldly life (or at least it should be). The Christian should be set apart from the world in how they speak, react, dress, work, and live in general. In Ephesians 4:20-32 Paul wrote of how a Christian should live.
“But that is not the way you learned Christ!– assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
One of the best ways for a Christian to open an opportunity to teach others about Christ is to be a Christian. What do I mean by that statement? The way a Christian lives is so different from the way that most of the world lives that it is easy for others to see a difference in the Christian’s life.
When people see a difference in how a Christian lives their life, it might incite a curiosity about what in the Christian’s life is different from their life. Why is that person so patient in line at the post office? Why does that person not lash out over a little issue or mistake? Why does that person have such a strong relationship with their spouse? Why does that person not use profanity when they trip and fall? These little things can really make a big impression on someone outside the body of Christ. I certainly realize that Christians are human and make mistakes. However, there should be an overall difference in how a Christian lives their life: they should always be striving to be more like Christ.
Christians can find opportunities to show God to others by being a wonderful example in the way that they live their life. I have heard it said (and I think it is so true) that a sermon lived makes a greater impression than a sermon preached.
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