Bible Bites
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Insiders and Outsiders: ESMs
Welcome back to Tuesday & Thursday Bible Bites!
So you say you are a Christian. How different is your behaviour from those with whom you work? Are your colorful words of expression different? Are your priorities different? Are the jokes you tell different? Are your ‘free’ hours used differently? Is the music you enjoy different? Are your investment strategies different? Are your bookcases and DVD shelves different?
If someone on the ‘outside’ was to spend one hour at your place, would they clue in and say: “Wow! This is different than our place!” Would they sense you have something in your life that transcends theirs? Or would they just leave and say: “She sure had a nice nick-knack shelf!” or “They sure have a pricey piece of artwork in the hallway!” or “I think that was the hugest flat screen I’ve seen yet.“
Of course, there is nothing wrong with ornaments and paintings or flat screens – but was there nothing else they noticed different about your home or you – than those types of things?
Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders,
making the most of the opportunity.
Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt,
so that you will know how you should respond to each person.
(Colossians 4:5-6)
An insider is a person who has, by faith, rested upon Christ and entered ‘through’ the door of salvation. They’re safe inside forever. So are you inside? Today you will meet someone who’s ‘outside’ and could be ‘outside’ forever. The only potential light that person may see today is the light they will see glowing from you – an insider.
Recently, three colleagues were golfing – two outsiders and one insider. One outsider told a mildly off-colored joke. Which of the other two didn’t crack a smile? The insider – the Christian who loved the Lord. He never opened his mouth to condemn. He just didn’t smile.
The insider did not know the significance of that moment but it was an ESM (Eternally Significant Moment). The next day the joker dropped by the insider’s office and said: “Did I offend you when we were golfing? I noticed you didn’t laugh at my joke.” That ESM on the greens was not squandered or lost by the ‘insider’. It became the springboard for the grace of God to powerfully impact that outsider’s life. The outsider is now inside and so is his wife. They both trusted Christ as their Saviour. They’ve obeyed the Lord in baptism and now fellowship with Christians in a local New Testament church. He looks back on that joke as the best joke he ever told. I wonder why?!!
We are to conduct ourselves wisely towards those who are on the outside. I shouldn’t have to convince others with words that I have something they don’t have. They should be able to SEE it by my behaviour, my responses, my integrity, my interests, my priorities, my choices and my lifestyle. My gracious and seasoned words of explanation follow as they begin to ask me questions.
God didn’t flash a red ESM light before that insider’s eyes on the golf-course. No, I am to walk wisely all the time, always conscious of the fact that I am inside and there are still people on the outside. I am to treat every minute of my day as eternally significant.
Walk carefully and closely with the Lord today.
Warmly in Christ
Peter Ramsay
Twitter: pdr_heaven4sure