"Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.  And walk in love, as Christ also has loved and and given Himself for us…”    Ephesians 5:1

"So we are Christ’s ambassadors…”    2 Corinthians 5:20 NLT

Don’t lie.  You know you’ve had those moments where someone you’ve known for eons drops some scripture on you out of the blue and you do that mental double-take with a "Say WHAT??” and a raised eyebrow.  You can’t BELIEVE that so-and-so knows Jesus!  Nothing about them has ever stood out to you as even the least bit Christ-like.  As Christians, we can hear that and chuckle.  But I cringe to think what non-believers think when they have the same experience. 

Christians (as well as non-Christians), know that we are supposed to rep God wherever we go.  Doesn’t mean that we’re beating people down with our Bibles or posting "if-you-don’t-forward-this-then-you-don’t-love-Jesus” Facebook statuses.  Representing Him well just means being sure that we are reflections of Him in all we do.  Not always an easy task to accomplish, but it’s our duty.  Psalm 19:14 says, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”

My challenge to you (and to myself as well), is to be sure that your light is shining.  On a few different occasions, I’ve had to look at myself in the mirror and say, "If you are going to call yourself a Christian, then at least make the effort to act like one.”  Many people were won to Christ, not just through preaching and teaching, but watching.  They see when something is different about a person.  When it’s obvious that your life is different, it speaks volumes. 

Now, none of us are perfect.  Somebody will  cut you off in traffic, skip you in line at Home Depot (for real, that happened to me!), or ride your nerves at work.  And you will want to tell somebody where to go and how fast to get there.  But, let’s not give in to that.  We’re supposed to be helping the Kingdom of God, not hurting it.

Shari Grant is a Registered Nurse in South Florida, where she was raised in a (very!) Jamaican home. Some of the loves of her life are words (both reading and writing them) and missions work. She enjoys spending time with friends and family while living for a good laugh - one that makes her belly ache and her eyes water. Her bottom line goal in life is to make the Lord smile and maybe even serve Him up a chuckle from time to time, too.