I read one of those church signs the other day that totally slapped my face. Here is what it said:

You may have read this before or heard this before. I hadn’t, but now I have and it really has got me thinking. When people “read” me, do they get Jesus? Not in the “good christian guy” way. But in the John and Peter standing before the Sanhedrin way. Here is what was said,

I talk about this set of scripture a lot, but it must be talked about. The council had already seen the miracle, so that was undeniable. Now they observed the confidence (aka “power”) in which Peter and John spoke and knowing that they were “uneducated and untrained”, there only conclusion in amazement was that they must have been with Jesus. Why? Because they talk and act just like Him. It’s this understanding by the council that “They didn’t get that stuff from us. It’s that Jesus guy.” Which to the council was a negative. But to believers, it is the greatest positive and the standard by which we define ourselves.

Back to the church sign. The council never read John’s gospel or 1-3 John or the his Revelation of Jesus Christ. Yet they “read” John and they got Jesus. Likewise, the council never read 1st and 2nd Peter, yet they “read” Peter and they got Jesus. So, we must ask ourselves daily, “what do people get when they “read” me? Anything other than Jesus is unacceptable. He is the standard, and He said greater things will we do. We are called to pick up where He left off.

I leave you with that one statement and one question to think on:

You may be the only bible some people ever read. What do they get when they read you?

–
Ryan