Lights in LA

An admonition in 1st Peter 3 really lays out some of the characteristic of the Christian who is really trying to allow the light of Christ to shine through him or her:
8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For "He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.  15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;   I was reading in Ecclesiastes this morning, which is summed up by one of the closing phrases, "fear God and keep His commandments".   Jesus echoed that when He said to love God and love people.   If we're loving God, we are attempting to live according to His standards and bringing glory to His name.   As we allow the presence of the indwelling Christ to permeate all that we are, we create an atmosphere around us so that Jesus in us is noticed.   May God be glorified through what we think, what comes out of our mouth, and how we act, under His leadership.

Matthew 5:16 says: 16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

ESPN's awards, the ESPY's, were handed out in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, and there was certainly a faith-related subplot going on.    Seems that happens regularly when Tim Tebow is involved.   He and his former Denver Broncos teammate, Demaryius Thomas, received the award for Best Moment of the Year, given for the game-winning 80-yard touchdown pass during the playoffs last season against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

According to the Christian Post, Tebow said in his acceptance speech:  "First of all, I just want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."  He also thanked his former teammates, and encouraged Denver's new starting quarterback, Peyton Manning, to "take care of them."

Tebow also was a co-presenter, with Jessica Biel, of the Best Breakthrough Athlete award, given to New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin, who said during his speech, "I just want to first of all thank God for this opportunity to be here. It's been an unbelievable year."  Lin thanked his family, Knicks fans and his teammates.

Now, here's where the plot gets a bit interesting and instructive for us:   Jessica Biel tweeted a prayer about curbing her own profanity.   "Dear God, please don't let me swear in front of @timtebow at the ‪#espys‬ tonight when we present," the actress tweeted.   This comes in the aftermath of an incident at a Los Angeles hair salon prior to the ESPY's, in which Tebow requested a stylist who did not use profanity.  

It's hard to detect an attitude in a tweet sometimes, but you figure at least Biel recognized Tebow's conviction.    And, I think it's a real testimony to the presence of Christ within us when people refrain from using bad language around us or when they apologize when they do swear.   Hopefully, people will see our light shine, that our countenance and our behavior creates an atmosphere around us that radiates the presence of Christ.

And, we have to watch our own words - I think it's unfortunate that there are words today that used to be considered inappropriate or profane that have become rather acceptable.   And, there are words that are "substitutes" for so-called "curse words" that perhaps we are too quick to throw around.    I believe that we can hold ourselves to a higher standard regarding words and expressions, including a variety of forms of less-than-edifying language, such as slander, gossip, and complaining.   We can ask the Holy Spirit to convict us of words and ways that do not please God, and always seek to draw a distinction between us and the world around us.   Good for Tebow - and Lin - for desiring to walk the walk!