LUKE 14:1-3 – One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”

THEME OF THE DAY. BE MINDFUL OF WATCHING EYES. From the rising of the sun through the rolling out of our beds to the setting of the sun and lying our heads on the pillow, we are on display. Initially, we may not have human eyes watching us. There is a spiritual realm of many observers who are – both good and evil, but soon into the day, human eyes enter into the observation. Family members, neighbors, people at work, those we encounter in the daily affairs of life, and even strangers watch us. Oh, by the way, be very aware of how we treat strangers. Why? Let this scripture truth persuade us in the treatment we give to unfamiliar folks – Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares (Hebrews 13:2). When tempted to be short, rushed, unkind, maybe indifferent to strangers, stop and ponder that individual might be an angel sent from God to test how much the Lord Jesus is really controlling and shaping our lives. Friends, we are not to be selective when it comes to representing Jesus and if we are, then we are really presenting a “Christian moral code of conduct” and not Jesus. To pick and choose whom we “act” Christian to makes us more a formal religionist than a Bible-living Christian. But back to the theme of the day . . .

In today’s scripture, our Lord is a dinner guest of a predominant religious figure. This likely wasn’t a private party. The text doesn’t say. Maybe the lawyers and Pharisees stopped Jesus on the street heading to dinner, but likely the ruler of the Pharisees hosting the meal invited others. Doesn’t matter. What did matter is what the crowds were doing toward Jesus. Watching Him. Observing how He was acting and would act. In the context, they are observing what our Lord was going to do with the sick man in relation to honoring the Sabbath. However, the principle applies to us . . . if we profess to be Christians, genuine followers of Christ, then two things are true.

First, if we proclaim allegiance to Christ, then we have voluntarily put ourselves on display for a watching world; the worlds of family, friends, co-workers, other believers and unbelievers. Jesus told us, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Earlier in His Sermon on the Mount, He used strong language about being His people in the world – “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:13-16). The strong language is that of a warning. The question is not “Are we witnesses and representatives of the Lord Jesus?”. We are by profession. The real question is, “Are we witnesses and representatives of the Lord Jesus giving forth a Biblically-accurate picture?”

The second truth about being a person under observation as a Christian is that those watching us – family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, believers, and unbelievers deserve to see “the real Jesus in us.” We are under obligation to represent Him well. How sad, and accountable we will be, to have so lived a Christian life contrary to the Lord and the scripture that gave people, especially in our families, reasons to have no interest in the real Jesus because they never saw Him in us. Think about it. We are under observation – always. Live with this awareness and our testimonies of Christ will be genuine before those watching us!

PRAYER: “Father, make me aware that I am always representing Your Son before an always watching world.”

QUOTE: “We are witnesses for Christ all the time. The question is, ‘Are we representing Him accurately?’”