Living Proof

     I enjoy reading and studying the Bible and then sharing with others what I learn.  I also enjoy learning from what others discover in their reading of God's word.  But recently a verse of Scripture caused me to take a deep breath and thoughtfully consider my own life (many verses do that often!).  I came face to face with 1 John 2:6, "Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." (TNIV).  Another version puts it this way, "Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did" (NLT).
     LIVE AS JESUS DID.  I hear John saying to me, "Don, you claim to be a Christian, right?  What is the evidence for that?  If you think it is your knowledge of the Bible or your ability to tell others how to become a Christian, you've got it all wrong.  The only credible evidence that anyone is a Christian is that they are living their life as Jesus lived his.  Is that what you're doing?"
     I answered honestly when I said, "Not always."  Then it came to me.  Reading and studying the Bible should always lead to discovery of how Jesus lived so that I can learn to imitate his life in my own.  Unless I am reading the Bible, first of all, to learn how Jesus lived and then to practice becoming more like him, I have no right to claim to be one of his followers.  Further, unless I am living my life as he lived his, I have no basis for trying to teach anyone else what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  The real proof of the lordship of Jesus over our lives is when our life looks like his; that's living proof.