They will know we are Christians by our...T-Shirts

I stole the title for this post from a T-shirt that I came across on Justin McRobert’s Website. Over the last few months especially, but off and on for the last year, I have been thinking about sharing my faith, or how little I do it actually. I kept coming back to this very familiar quote concerning sharing the gospel.

“Preach the Gospel always, when necessary use words” -- St. Francis of Assisi

I love this quote. I think there is so much truth in the statement in how we should be living out our faith. If our actions aren’t preaching the Gospel of Jesus then our words won’t matter.

However in examining my life, I have realized that there is a problem. I love this quote, but I have now come to realize that there is something wrong with it. I guess the problem is more with the distortion of the truth behind the quote. The problem that I have is that this quote has given me an excuse to not tell, and I mean tell, people about Jesus.

I recently answered a question on a blog of one of my good friends. The question was Where does telling people about Jesus rank in your life? Answer Choices: Number 1, If an opportunity rises, don’t really think about it, or not my job. My answer was if an opportunity rises(so was every other person who answered the question.) Now what that really means for me most of the time is when someone asks me. Do you know how many people have come up to me and asked me about my faith in Jesus this last year? Would you care to take a guess? Zero. But you know what, I have my bases covered, because I am preaching the gospel with my actions. I wear T-Shirts with bible verses on them(sometimes), I smile at a lot of people(except the people that creep me out, of course), I have given food to the homeless(don't you think I am a really good person?), and I even carry my bible around in public(if I remember to pick it up off the shelf). So I am preaching the gospel by my actions.

Is this good enough? Now I am not going to tell you that you shouldn’t do these things, however isn’t there a time where we need to use our words. We have got to quit hiding behind cute and safe statements like, “I let my actions speak for me!” That is an excuse so we don’t have to do the uncomfortable. It is time to start letting our actions and our words preach the gospel together.

It is something that I have challenged myself to do and I want to encourage you to do this also.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20