But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him and said, This man was also with Him. Luke 22:56
A young friend of ours had gone to spend a year visiting and working in Northern Ireland where her grandparents had come from. I was surprised to speak with her upon her return, to find that she had developed a delightful bit of Irish lilt to her speech. There was no problem telling who she had been with for the past several months. She in turn was surprised that I would notice the change in her speech as a result of having been among the Irish; she didn’t realized that it had made a difference. As our text indicates, just being with certain people can make it easy for others to tell that we have.
How could the maid in the high priest’s house tell that Peter was a follower of Jesus? She knew just by looking at him. Others who also declared Peter to be a follower of Jesus said that his speech betrayed the fact. They knew who he was; Peter’s denials made no difference. Being with Jesus made a big difference back then, and it should make a big difference today. It should cause people to recognize who is our Lord.
Do we look like Christians? Can people tell by our appearance or by our behaviour that we belong to Christ? They should! Because our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), and because we present our bodies a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1), we ought not to defile these bodies by such destructive practices as consuming tobacco, alcohol or recreational drugs. Nor should we mar them with tattoos and body piercings that the world around us seems so fascinated by. We also ought not to be found in places marked by shameful and sinful behaviour. 1 Peter 4:4 tells us that people around us think it strange that we run not with them to the same excess of riot. Not only will they notice by what we don’t do; they will notice by what we do do. They will see that we are joyful in our salvation, loving and caring to those around us, honest and fair in our business dealings, happy in the fellowship with other Christians, and fervent in our testimony for our Lord. Do they see these things in us?
And do they hear by our speech that we belong to Jesus Christ? Do we shun the gutter language and potty talk of the world? Do we speak the truth and make certain that we keep our word? Do we avoid speaking and listening to gossip? Do we quote the Scriptures and sing worthy hymns? Do we discuss and promote things of good character? If we do these things, we will stand out in a world that is awash in talk that displays the control the devil has over the tongue.
Why would anyone ever accuse you of being a follower of Jesus Christ? And what evidence would they have to back up that accusation? – Jim MacIntosh