EVERY one who makes any profession of Christ is an object of close scrutiny. Those who are scrutinizing his way of living do it unobtrusively and generally without comment. Often it is done for the purpose of detecting signs of insincerity or failure; but sometimes it is for the honest purpose of ascertaining the reality of the power of Christ in the life of him who confesses Him. Thus, whether we desire it or not, and whether we are conscious of it or not, we are living epistles, known and read of men. What are they reading with those watchful eyes in your life and mine? What conclusions are they drawing from what they read there? And what influence are those conclusions exerting upon their attitude towards the Lord Jesus Christ?
Let me relate a little personal episode which will strikingly illustrate what I mean.
A few years after I had come to a knowledge of the great salvation which has been wrought by the crucified and risen Son of God, I heard of the death of the beloved wife of a friend, a man much older than myself. I highly esteemed him, and looked up to him as one of the most eminent and honored lawyers in the country, and entertained affectionate regard for him because of kindness and help extended towards me when a law student, and in the early days of my practice. I was away from home when this news reached me, and though I did not know whether or not he was a Christian, I ventured, in writing him a note of sympathy, to quote those words of comfort given to us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-1813But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13‑18).
I met him subsequently, and he at once referred to my letter, and expressed a dire to talk to me on the subject upon which it touched. This led to several long conversations. He was without faith, and had been endeavoring to find in the opinions of learned men a resting-place for the mind, and an answer to the profoundest questions which the heart raises. Consequently he was in a truly pitiable state of uncertainty, pointing out that one writer said one thing, and one another, and that no one seemed to have any solid foundation for his opinions.
I most earnestly urged him to turn from conflicting human opinions to the Word of God, assuring him with all the conviction that was in my own soul that we had God’s own Word for everything that was important for us to know. I also endeavored to show him, by that unfailing Word, that eternal life was given to all who believed on the crucified and risen Son of God. It was quite evident that the impression my testimony made upon him was due to the fact that I had strong convictions, and could rest unquestionably upon the revealed Word of God. After this much had been gained, he put to me this question: “Did your acceptance of Jesus Christ make
ANY ACTUAL DIFFERENCE IN YOUR LIFE?”
What a searching question! And how clear it was that I could bring no help to that distressed and darkened soul had I not been able to assure him that, as the result of believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, my life had been completely changed, that old habits of life and habits of thought had fallen away, that old things had lost their power to attract and to satisfy, and that, in short, the result was entrance into a new creation.
He went on to say that he had been, watching church-goers for forty years; that he could not see that the profession of Christianity made any difference in their lives; that their manner of living could not be distinguished from those who made no such profession; and he cited the case of a man very high in the councils of the nation, a personal friend of his, who was prominent in one of the largest churches of the city, but whose manner of life gave no evidence of being influenced in any way by his profession of Christianity.
Consider what this means—that a man of the highest culture, a close observer of men, living in the center of the national life of this (so-called) Christian land, could ask, after watching professing Christians for forty years, whether believing on the Lord Jesus Christ made any difference in one’s life! What sort of Christians were these? For whom were they living, that after so long a study of their ways this keen observer, was forced to the conclusion that Christianity was, for all practical purposes, a sham―a mere form of godliness without the corresponding power? (2 Tim. 3:55Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (2 Timothy 3:5)).
I never saw that man again. A few days after this conversation he, too, was called away, and I do not know whether or not he had found refuge in the atoning blood of Christ. But I am sure that the same question is being asked by millions of others in this and other lands where, there is a profession of Christianity. Eyes are fixed upon each one of us who names the name of Christ. They are eager eyes, hungry eyes, the eyes of imprisoned and perishing souls; and while these observers may make no comment, they are asking within themselves, “Does it make any difference in one’s life?”
What answer do they get to that question as they regard your life and mine? What are they reading day by day, and what conclusion are they reaching? The answer will be found in the answer to that other question: “Unto whom are we living—unto self or unto Him?”
P. M.