“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.” –Philippians 1:27-30
It didn’t seem that unusual when I first saw it. It was a bill-board advertising a local church with a common theme: “ A place where you can find a friend!” But something about it bothered me. It took me a while to figure out what it was. Finally it hit me. It was the disconnect between the picture and the message.
The picture was one of those stock photos of a young man on top of a mountain, hands outstretched and looking to the sky. He’s celebrating his achievement at the top of the mountain. Great picture, but it is not a place where you often meet new people. The picture and the message just didn’t work together and although I didn’t recognize it immediately, that was what made me think the sign was --- well --- cheesy? Deceptive? Unprofessional? Whatever you call it, it just didn’t work.
It is amazing how important congruity is when we are delivering a message. Congruity between the way we talk and the way live our lives is critical to how effective we are as instruments for God. We know this to be true, and we spend lots of time in prayer and Bible Study trying to achieve this in our lives. It is also amazing just how difficult this congruity is to achieve – especially if you’re a preacher. We are called to hold up the ideal, often knowing that we fall far short of that ideal. We preach “love your neighbor” while at the same time secretly hoping that neighbor who keeps parking in front of the house will get a ticket! We encourage generosity while at the same time hoping we can save back enough money to attend the big game or to make our life just a bit more comfortable. And though some of these things may not be evident to others (though I’ll bet more of them are than we realize), they are at the very least evident to ourselves…and even more to God..
Thank goodness God has the grace to forgive us even of the incongruent messages we speak in our lives. And perhaps there is where a truly congruent message can be preached by all – that it is by Grace, not by works, that we ultimately find our hope and confidence. And it is because of this grace that we experience that we are encouraged to be more than what we once were or that we currently are. We keep seeking that congruity between our faith and our actions that is so elusive.
Prayer: Lord, Help the words of my mouth and the actions of my life be congruent. Help them both to be pleasing to you. Amen
Steve Van Ostran
ABCRM
Executive Minister |
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