live the life

I was having a conversation with my friend one day over dinner. He pointed out how he found some Christians that he had met very offensive. The whole message about death and hell didn't seem like a very pleasant subject. Being a christian myself, I felt the need to explain to my friend that even if some Christians may come on too strong, it was essential that we preach the gospel. However, I refrained from doing so because I knew no matter how much I may try to explain, it still requires the Holy Spirit to help him understand the true message of the gospel. He went on to say that he would prefer Christians who focused on how they lived their life rather than preaching all the time.

A few days later I was going through some of Michael w. Smith’s songs and I came across the song “live the life”, which was basically a song about being true to walking the christian life just as the Lord Jesus Christ did. I recalled the conversation that I had with my friend and I came to realize that even though I don’t agree that just because the gospel is offensive to some, we shouldn’t preach the truth, but many times, I find words are often easier spoken than lived. In some ways my friend seem to be teaching me that if you want to preach, first show me through your life. Clichéd as this subject has been, but it keeps us (or me for that matter) reminded that how often the mouth should stop talking and let silence bring us to a state of self evaluation and let life speak its story.