“Let your light so shine before men, that They may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5: 16 (NIV)

A story tells of a very important church leader who moved to a small town. The next day, he decided to take a tour of the town to see its most important landmarks. He rode a public bus and paid the driver the required fare. As he sat down, he counted the change and discovered that the driver had returned an extra 50 cents. After a lot of reasoning and debating in his thoughts, he said to himself, “Ah, forget it, it’s only 50 cents; who is going to worry about such a small amount? When the bus reached the stop, he walked toward the exit and, thinking again, decided to return the extra money to the driver by saying, “Here, sir, you gave me this extra 50 cents. “The driver, with a smile, replied, “I know you are the new church leader in town, and I’ve been thinking about going back to church. I wanted to see what you would do”. The church leader got down, shaking inside, and said, “Oh my God, I almost sold Your Son for 50 cents!”

Brothers, there will be many occasions when our lives will be the only Bible some people read; your testimony can serve as a powerful message for others to come to the Lord. The gospel of Matthew teaches us in chapter 5:16 to shine before men, and our behavior should be an opportunity to glorify His name. We must be the light in the midst of darkness.

Like it or not, the world always has set its sights on how we behave, on what we have done wrong, and then publicizes it everywhere with the phrase “And yet, they say they are Christians!”. We have to remember that our enemy always looks for opportunities to make us stumble and fall. Knowing this, let us keep doing what we have learned from the teachings of God’s word.

The scripture in Titus 2:7-8 [NIV] clearly tells us, “In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.” As followers in Christ, we should be reminded to be an example to believers and unbelievers in speech, behavior, love, spirit, faith, and purity. Amen

José J. Acevedo / CBC Ex. Board