Speak for Yourself
As I concluded yesterday’s podcast, I mentioned our Five Daily Activities. These are the things every believer can do any day in any job that put us on-mission with Jesus. If you’ve taken a Marketplace Mission Trip, or listened to our podcast for a while, you’ve heard me talk about these activities. But today, I want to talk about number 5: Speak for Yourself.
Rather than judge, we follow. Jesus called us to follow him. In Mark 5, there was a man who had an army of demons who where living in him. Jesus instructed the demons to leave the man and they instead went into a nearby herd of pigs. The pigs ran into the sea and drown. The people of the city came out and decided they didn’t want Jesus to hang around. So as Jesus was leaving, the man who was freed of the demons asked to go along. But Jesus told him no. In verse 19, Jesus instructs the man what to do instead. “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you and how he had mercy on you.”
Jesus didn’t send this man back to his people to tell them what they’re doing wrong. He didn’t tell him to judge them or to set them straight. He told the man to give a testimony to what happened. He told the man to share his own personal experience; to speak for himself.
Out of respect for others, we learn to talk about things that are of interest to others. When we can live a joy-filled life serving others, people will notice and ask us about what they see that is different. That’s part of the message of 1 Peter 3:15, too. Even in the most hostile workplaces, we can live differently. Maybe all you can do is pray for others, silently, without them ever knowing. Still, at that moment you’re on-mission with Jesus. One day, when someone asks, you simply follow the instructions provided in Mark 5:19. I pray you get the chance to report what great things the Lord has done for you today.
Connect With Follower Of One
Join us over in our Online Community, get social with us; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Listen to our podcast on your way to work and subscribe using your favorite podcast app. Be a part of our next Marketplace Mission Trip!
