Are you an open book?

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” (Romans 10:9-11 NLT)

Open declaration of both our need for Jesus and our intense love for what he has done for us at the cross is a necessary part of us being a living testimony of his grace. We might not think we need to openly share our faith, but we have a unique opportunity to share truth and light. Maybe we won't do it from a pulpit or on the street corners, but we can declare his grace in our circle of influence. At first, others who don't know Jesus may 'sense' there is just something different about you. That isn't a bad thing - it is evidence of his work within you. Before long, the door may be open for you to begin to share the truth of your peace - the truth that Jesus made you new, forgave your sins, and has prepared a way for you to spend eternity around his throne. 

We don't always think about the 'testimony' we can give - especially if we just think of a testimony as the words people share to invite someone into relationship with Christ. Our testimony is more of an observed testimonial of grace most of the time. Others just see the life change - knowing something is different in us than most of the others they might be surrounded by at work, in their home, or in their community. This testimonial may actually draw a little bit of curiosity - wanting to know what makes us 'different'. That might just be when your 'observed testimony' becomes the opportunity to share the truth of the gospel and offer that life-changing experience to another.

Believing in our heart is good - living our testimony is grand! What draws others to Christ more often than not is the observation of grace in action. Our actions change once we begin to believe in the finished work of Christ on our behalf, don't they? The things we used to say and do might not have as great of an appeal as they once did and that is an 'observable' change that can open doors for us to give 'witness' to the work of Christ. Anyone who trusts in Christ will never be disgraced - especially when they are sharing truth and grace in their living testimonial! We might shy away from sharing scripture or inviting someone into this relationship with Christ if we believe the lie of our enemy that says we will be made fun of or ridiculed for our belief. Remember - we will not be disgraced! 

The one who believes also desires a closeness of relationship that cannot be denied. We will find that when we truly commit to our relationship with Christ, we will begin to change the way we think about others. We might find the walls of defense we held up so tightly come down and we become a bit of an 'open book' that they are reading! Just sayin!