“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Phil. 4:9 NIV).
Is he doing pull-ups in that tree? I wondered.
I was shocked to see the security guard, a man in his 50s, hanging by his hands from a tree branch at the gate to our neighborhood. He did several pull-ups with surprisingly good form and then dropped lightly back to the ground. He glanced in my direction, and I gave him a thumbs-up. He smiled widely and returned the gesture, clearly happy that I had noticed.
“I think he has been watching you do pull-ups on the bar in our yard, and he got inspired,”
Tonya said with a joking grin. But she was probably right. For better or for worse, people are watching what we do all the time.
Several Thai Christians have told me that a key factor in convincing Thai Buddhists to make decisions to follow Christ is watching how Christians live. For them, what Christians believe isn’t as important as how we live, and how our beliefs make a positive difference in our lives and the lives of those around us.
As a missionary, knowing this fact can be liberating yet somewhat intimidating. Maybe we can’t always effectively communicate our beliefs, but we can always demonstrate how much we care. At the same time, we have to always be aware of the example we’re setting by our actions.
Please continue to pray that we will live authentically for Christ in a way that is worthy of emulating. Also, please remember that your support makes it possible for us to continue being living examples of genuine Christianity in Thailand.
