Alba 1-28-24
LET YOUR LIFE SHINE
I Thessalonians 4:9-12
The military has a history of requiring that boots be polished until they shine. If you have served in the military, you are probably familiar with the involved process that it takes to achieve that shine.
There are websites that explain the process and the hours it takes to get the perfect shine. On a website called “Spotter Up” there is an article entitled “Boots and Utes: Shining Boots and Maintaining your Uniform” By Michael Kurcina.
He wrote: “Most everyone I know has used the spit shine method. Some swear by spit, others by water. This is going to take a lot of time so you better have a lot of patience. I used to be very obsessive about having my boots shiny and competed with my Marine brothers. I think many of us can recall the hours we spent getting our boots looking incredible. I experimented with many different methods; some worked and some didn’t.”
But then he adds, “The use of boot polish to shine military boots has waned in this country for a lot of service people and for very practical reasons. Yet this art of patience is still practiced. A lot of effort in the beginning to make your boots look good pays off in the end. Thereafter, just a bit of maintenance is needed.”
And he says, “It takes patience and discipline to get them looking good, and the quality of someone’s boots and shoes might tell a story about the quality of the service person.”
In other words, if you want others to think well of you, make your shoes shine! There is a lesson there for us as Christians. If we want to have influence in this world, we had better shine. We need to let our life shine so that others will be attracted to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
And notice I said “life” not “light”. Of course if our life is a shining example of Christ-likeness, we will be providing godly light in this dark world.
So how do we do it? How do we let our life shine for our Lord? An answer can be found in I Thessalonians 4:9-12. As the apostle Paul writes to these Christians, he gives some good advice as to how they can shine for Jesus. Lets read:
9 But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; 10 and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; 11 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing. (NKJV)
The J.B. Phillips Translation has verse 12, “The result will be a reputation for honesty in the world outside .” And the New Living Translation says, “Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live.”
In other words if we follow the guidelines just given in these verses it will help us, as it says in Philippians 2:15, to “become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world”.
1. So again, how? First we need to “love one another” as it says in verse 9. They say that love is the universal language. When non-Christians see love displayed within the church, it gives them something to wish they had. The word love in this verse is the kind that cares for others. It is “brotherly love”.
Some time ago the Associated Press conducted a survey of 39 different Protestant denominations. And they asked one question: "What is the number one factor that causes congregations to grow?" They wondered if there were any factors that can be found in every growing church regardless of doctrine, denomination, location, culture, etc?
Well, it wasn’t the preaching. It wasn’t the presence of a children’s ministry. And it wasn’t air conditioning. On the basis of the survey, they discovered that the number one characteristic of a growing church was the atmosphere of love among the membership.
The Press concluded that people everywhere are looking for love, and if Christians really began to love each other the way God would want us to, then we would have to lock the doors to keep the people away.
The greatest compliment a church can receive is that it is a loving church. They will know we are Christians by our love. I so appreciate the love that is expressed by and to our people here. It is a good thing.
But did you notice that the congregation in Thessalonica was already showing love to “all the brethren”. Yet they were encouraged to “increase more and more” in their expressions of love to each other? We won't get to the place where there is not more room for more love; sincere caring for each other.
God teaches us how to love. 1 John 4:10, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (atoning sacrifice) for our sins.”
Jesus did that when He went to the cross to pay the price for our sins. In John 15:13 Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” And in the verse just before that He said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
If we do that, we will let our life shine before those who still need Jesus.
2. The second thing in these verses that will help us to let our life to shine is to “aspire to lead a quiet life”. The New International Version says, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life.” J.B. Phillips translated the phrase as “Make it your ambition to have no ambition!” Actually the phrase "quiet life" suggests a calmness, a serenity, not idleness.
William Hendriksen says it suggests, “Let the restless one be ambitious about attaining this goal." The Greek word for "quiet" means "a tranquil disposition free from the inner turmoil that causes disturbances in the community."
Ambition requires diligence and determination, not to mention patience, understanding, motivation, and persistence. It definitely requires a lot more than sitting still and saying nothing! Perhaps a good way to understand this is to think of the opposite of quiet. The Thessalonian Christians were not to be loud and obnoxious!
Self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit, and when exercised, our lives will be characterized by an inner strength and peace that is being referred to here. People should be able to see Christians as being at peace in times of conflict, not given to outbursts of anger, criticism, or violence.
Living in near panic mode is not a winsome way to live.
Going off on tangents and extremism repels people from Jesus. A tranquil life is a balanced life.
Ecclesiastes 9:17 reads, “Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.”
Often it is in the quiet times of our lives that we are most able to be in tune with God. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” A quiet life will shine brightly if God is kept in proper focus.
3. The third thing in these verses that will help us to let our life to shine is to “mind your own business”. Have you ever been told to do that? Maybe you've told someone else that.
Sometimes we or the other person really mean well. And sometimes something needs to be said. But on the other hand, wouldn't it be great if there weren't so many busy-bodies? Someone paraphrased this command to say: Keep your nose clean and keep it out of others lives!
This guideline suggests that some of the Thessalonians were meddling in the affairs of others, stirring up trouble, or gossiping around town. Such behavior, still evident among Christians, is wrong and reflects badly on Jesus and His church.
Alice Roosevelt, daughter of Teddy Roosevelt, was known for having a caustic tongue. Her slogan was said to be, "If you can't say anything good about somebody, come sit by me."
Some people are like that: "Tell me all the gossip so I can pass it on." That's not how we should be! Instead, we should be thoughtful and considerate of others. We should be shining examples of kindness and love. F.F. Bruce commented on this by saying, "There is a great difference between the Christian duty of putting the interests of other people first, and the busybody’s compulsive itch to put other people right."
There is a story about a preacher who went out visiting one night, and the person he went to see was annoyed at the visit. He told the preacher, “Wouldn’t it be nice if everybody would mind their own business”. And the preacher replied “Saving souls and getting people to come to church is my business.”
As Christians, we should be looking for opportunities to do good to others; to smile, and to speak a word of encouragement to those around us. Because that is our business. We are called to be a witness for Jesus.
Scripture shows us that Jesus never lost sight of His business. In Luke 2:49 at the age of 12 He declared, “I must be about my father’s business”. And in Luke 19:10 He made clear what that business was saying, “The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost”.
Jesus did that by dying on that cross for us. But not just for us. John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world”. There is a whole world out there that needs to know God loves them.
Colossians 4:5 says we are to, “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.” As we let our life shine, people will be drawn to Jesus. It is our business. And Christians who are about the Father’s business do not have the time or desire to be a busy-body.
4. The fourth thing in these verses that will help us to let our life to shine is “work with your own hands”. This goes together with minding your own business. You cannot faithfully accomplish all of your responsibilities in life if you’re bothering everybody else. If you are busy doing something, you have no time to meddle in other’s affairs.
Paul's next letter to the church in Thessalonica shows that some had misunderstood the promise of Christ’s return and started to live off the other Christians. They had quit their jobs, stopped paying their bills, and had lost credibility with the community. So they needed to be reminded, that did not give a good witness to unbelievers concerning their faith.
If the Thessalonians had kept themselves busy at useful labor, they would not have had time to get in trouble with meddling, trouble making, or gossiping.
The apostle Paul didn't just tell everybody else that they should work while he sat back waiting for others to serve him. When speaking to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:34 he reminded them, “You yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me.”
But then in the next verse he acknowledges that some people do need assistance saying, “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
We work to care for our needs and for the needs of others. When we do what we can, we let our life shine for Jesus.
If we lead a peaceful life, tending to our responsibilities, and working hard to provide for our needs, we will put ourselves in a position to be an incredible influence for Jesus Christ to those inside and outside the community of believers.
Sometime back Gallup did a poll in which it asked the question of those who do not attend, “Why do you not go to church?” Do you know the number one reason that was given? Hypocrisy. The thinking is: “Why would I want to go? The people who go don’t live any differently than I do.”
Another gallop poll surveyed Christians who believe the Bible is the sole base of authority, and found that many admitted that their Christianity does not effect the way they live their life.. (not: the way the live, how they talk, the places they go, what they do). If that is the case, then it is no wonder that the church is not impacting the world as much as it should.
Someone put it this way: If people were watching you and the only witness of Jesus Christ they had was what they could see in your life, would it be enough to convince them that they should become a follower of Christ?
Knowing God should make a visible difference in the way we live. I heard about a guy on the beach who weighed over 300 pounds. He had on a T-shirt that read, “I conquered anorexia.” He was a living testimony! Nobody would deny it.
People ought to see us in such a way that they can’t deny that the Lord has been working in our lives.
Our goal should always be to “Let (our) light (and life) so shine before men, that they may see (our) good works and glorify (our) Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
CLOSE:
John Telgren, minister with the Church of Christ in Nebraska City, Nebraska wrote about his experience when he was in the Air Force and said:
I hated shining shoes in Basic Training. There were other things I would rather be doing instead of sitting on the floor with a brush and mounds of cotton balls stained with black Kiwi shoe polish! If our boots and dress shoes were not perfect we paid for it dearly!
During one of our trips to the Base Exchange, one of the guys in our unit discovered a "Shine Sponge" that was supposed to give us an effortless shine. Nearly every single person in the unit bought one.
When we got back to the barracks, we applied the sponge (which appeared to be some kind of clear oil) to our footwear, and they shone like a mirror! It left a coat of some sort of oil on them which produced an almost unearthly shine.
We were confident that when our Training Instructor came by (as he always did) in the middle of the night that we would not have our bunks tipped over due to a less-than-perfect shine on our boots and shoes.
Most of us were rudely awakened on the cold floor with a bunk bed lying on top of us. Why? Our boots had no shine!
We got the biggest chewing out since the beginning of training. The lights came on. We were wide-awake now. Our boots! Our shoes!! They were the most ugly dull things we had ever seen.
Why? The oil had soaked into the leather and made the leather more dull than the day we had them issued to us. The only ones who had shines on their shoes were the ones who didn't use the shine sponge on them.
And he concluded with: There are some things in life that you can't cut corners with. The Bible says,
"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly discerning the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15)."
In other words, let your life shine.
