The other day, as my family and I were driving in town, one of the children was impressed by a car that passed by us. Now, it's not unusual for a young person to like cars; that vehicle symbolizes speed and power they could never have otherwise--and, of course, it is reserved for an older age. They look forward to the time they will be allowed to drive a vehicle, and that they are trusted with all those things the vehicle represents. What stood out about this vehicle to me, though, was that it was a fraud. You may have seen vehicles like this--it seems that they are everywhere now. They are covered with all sorts of gadgets--special chrome taillights, neon lights on the outside and inside (even on the underside), little itty-bitty chrome wheels, chrome on the doors, special mufflers (with chrome on them, too). But underneath it all, it's basically an economy car. Now it may be, that in an all out race they would win out over my Ford Escort; but even so, they are a far cry from a real muscle car. When you get down to it, they are nothing but chrome.
Interestingly, people can be like that, too; even those that claim to be Christians. There are some that buy all the accessories: they have the WWJD bracelet, they wear a cross made of nails as a necklace, and they wear a t-shirt that reads, "I'm in the Lord's army." They have a fish symbol on their car, and they even have a Bible on the front seat. But when they get on the highway, they cut people off, weave in and out of traffic, and exceed the speed limit because they are late for work--and then they curse as an officer pulls them over. On the outside, everything appears to say, "I'm a Christian"; but, on the inside, it's nothing of the sort. Like the car that my family and I saw, they are nothing but chrome--and their behavior betrayed that fact.
You see, there is a difference between form and fact. We can claim to be a child of God, and yet still be a follower of Satan. In 1 Jn 1:6, we read, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him [God] and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth..." Again, our behavior reveals the truth.
How might we walk in darkness? A little bit later, this time in 2:9-11, John points out that, "The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes." One indicator that we walk in darkness, then, is that we hate our brother. But I wouldn't admit that I hated my brother--maybe not even to myself.
Yet, there is a way to know whether I hated my brother or not, and that is in the doing of things. When Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan in Lk 10:25-37, he related how a man was travelling, and fell among robbers. They took all he had, and left him for dead. Now, a Jewish priest came walking along, saw the man lying there, and went to the other side of the road to avoid having anything to do with him. Later, a Levite came along--he was of the tribe of Jews that helped with the worship of God--and he did the same thing. But then a Samaritan came along, and he not only cleaned and bandaged the man's wounds, but he also made sure he was cared for, for some time to come. If anyone would have worn a WWJD bracelet, it would surely have been the priest and the Levite; but Jesus pointed out that it was the Samaritan, and not the others that behaved as a neighbor. The difference between them was in the doing, and not what they said. We show our love for our brother by our behavior.
John mentioned another way we might walk in darkness in 1 Jn 1:4. There, we read, "The one who says, 'I have come to know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him..." So, a second indicator is whether we obey God or not. How can we say that we have a relationship with God if we won't do what He says? Of course, everyone recognizes this, whether they believe in God or not. That is why that person that proudly displays the fish symbol on his car and yet cuts us off in traffic irritates us so; and in fact Paul spoke of some very much like this in Rom 2:21-24: "you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For 'THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,' just as it is written." Whether or not we are aware of it, people are watching us; and a person that declares he is a Christian, and yet has the character of the Devil, can actually help to turn others away from Christ.
Again, the real indicator of whether or not we are children of God isn't if we say that we are, nor is it the accessories that we wear; it's what we do; and so, Jesus asked the question in Lk 6:46, "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?"
Jesus, in Mt 5, when giving the Sermon on the Mount, spoke of how sons of God should behave: in v14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your father in heaven." When you're sitting in a room reading a book as the sun begins to go down, and someone reaches around the corner and turns on the light, how do you know that the light came on? Is it because the light begins to call out, "Hey, everybody, look at me! I'm a light, and I'm really gonna brighten things up around here!" No; it doesn't announce it's presence at all. It just shines quietly, providing you with light, so you thank the one that thoughtfully turned it on for you.
In a similar way, we shouldn't have to tell people we're Christians for them to find out; nor should we have to wear something that declares it. If we are children of God, people should be able to know without our saying a word--by our behavior; and hopefully, they will glorify and thank God for it. This is exactly what happened with the apostle Paul, as he relates in Gal 1:22,23, "I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, 'He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.' And they were glorifying God because of me." They had not seen him, nor heard his voice; but they had heard of what he was doing. His behavior spoke volumes, and they glorified God on his account.
You see, Paul behaved in the ways that a child of God should, so he had no need of declaring that he was a servant of God; and this stands in stark contrast to the one who is behaving in such a way that no one would have ever guessed he was a Christian. Remember Lk 6:45: "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart." If we are lacking in evidence that we are children of God, we need to work on our hearts, not on our accessories.
I'm convinced that the fraud will eventually be found out; but even so, he is sure to deceive many. There are many who will be impressed by all that chrome and show, and that is a sad thing; but one thing is certain: God will never be fooled. In Gal 6:7,8 Paul warned, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." If all we are doing is making an outward show, we cannot trick God; He will ensure that we receive the proper reward for it. On the other hand, if we truly are His servants, it doesn't matter what is on the outside--that is to say, if we have chrome or not. As the Psalmist wrote in Psa 149:4, "...the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation." God Himself will do all the beautifying we need.
One of my best friends in all the world has had a couple of really nice cars. Oh, they didn't look so good; outside, they were mostly grey primer, while the interior had ragged carpet and well-worn seats. But under the hood, well, it was there that my friend had spent most of his efforts. Those cars may not have looked like much to a lot of people, maybe even most people; but where it counted, they were truly impressive. You may not look much to many, or even most people; but if you've worked on the heart, then you will be truly impressive where it counts--and God Himself takes notice.
