Not too long ago, I happened to come across a photograph on the Internet of an old friend of mine from nearly half a century ago! This old friend lived close to our family in the 1950’s and early 1960’s in the north-east of England. I only had one photograph of him in a group from long ago, but I could still visualise him in my mind’s eye. I first of all recognised his name and then could certainly see a big resemblance to someone I knew from the distant past. As he was presenting an award at a prestigious university, I did have a point of contact and, after a number of e-mails and telephone calls, his wife rang me and remembered me even though I could only recall meeting her once.
It got me to thinking about recognition and all that it entails. We can be recognised by our facial characteristics and by our voice (and maybe even our mannerisms), but what about being recognised by our behaviour? As we have been called by God, we are to be a light to the world, but would our behaviour give that impression to anyone who didn’t know about our Christian faith?
As someone once asked, “If we were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict us?” What if someone followed us around all week, what would they discover? Would we be showing the fruit of God’s Spirit? What would those who knew us well have to say? Would we pass the test? Or would we be shown as falling far short of that which was expected of us?
Recently, we kept the Passover and are now keeping the Days of Unleavened Bread, before which we should have undergone a time of personal examination. Were we diligent in that approach, and has it paid off with us being more recognisable as someone who does indeed follow the full instructions of the Bible and the teachings of Christ?
In a few weeks time, we will be celebrating another one of God’s Holy Days, the Feast of Pentecost (see Acts 2), when the Holy Spirit was given on that wonderful day nearly 2,000 years ago. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit will enable those who come into contact with us to recognise that we do behave differently from society and, that there is something different about us.
But, most importantly of all, God will recognise His own.
