By Kristen Robinson
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
After a chaotic Christmas season, let me tell you - one of the best aspects of today’s culture is online shopping. I’m looking at you Amazon Prime. I know for a fact that many Americans were singing the praises of online shopping when they knew that last minute gift could be there in two days! But we can’t forget the best feature of shopping online – the review. Honestly, I rarely buy anything without consulting a review. And I’m not alone. One study reports that 95% of shoppers consult reviews. And of those shoppers, nearly 1 in 4 consults a review for every purchase they make – especially younger generations. We want to know that we’re investing our money and time in the best possible product. We’re making sure that we’re buying something that is as good as it seems. Anything less and we move on to something with a better rating and better reviews.
Those of us in church often ask why fewer people attend church today or why Christianity seems to be dying. Any chance unbelievers haven’t been impressed with the “reviews”? I’m not talking about a church’s rating on Facebook or the glowing church reviews we leave online; those serve a purpose, but there’s a bigger picture here. Every day, we are walking, talking reviews for Christianity. Consider how often we are encouraged to share our testimonies with unbelievers. And what is a testimony? It’s a review! In a testimony, we are sharing why Christianity was the best decision we’ve ever made. If people won’t buy a toothbrush without reading a review, why would they devote their lives to a religion or worldview without looking up reviews - without speaking to and observing others who adhere to those principles.
We often get hung up on how to share our faith with others. We might think we need the perfect opportunity at the perfect time and place. Little do we know, unbelievers are reading our reviews every day, just by interacting with and observing us. It’s a good idea to check in with ourselves daily to see what kind of review our lives are leaving for Christianity. Do we radiate the joy and purpose that come with knowing Christ? Do we reach out to others and help them feel loved and accepted? Or maybe we’re unknowingly leaving poor reviews, maybe through the way we’ve reacted to stress or acted purely in self-interest. Of course, it’s not humanly possible to be a flawless model of sinless perfection. Only one person could do that (hint: it’s Jesus). But being a Christian is making a conscious effort every single day to follow Christ and strive to be more like Him. Jesus’ will for our lives can be summarized neatly into two commandments: love God and love people (Matt. 22:36-40). We gladly leave reviews for our favorite restaurants and recent purchases. So why on earth wouldn’t we be leaving positive reviews everywhere we go for the life-changing decision to be a Christ-follower?
Passage Reading Guide: Acts 6 & Psalm 115