TODAY’S SIGNATURE VERSE ••• “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV)
PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• In the last couple of weeks, my husband and I have been watching this Bud Light drama unfold and it’s one of those “pull up a chair and bring the popcorn” kind of things. As one person sagely commented, “There will be a whole sections in business textbooks in the future detailing how you guys tanked your own brand.” I’ve never been a beer consumer myself, but I know a bit about marketing and this commentator is right…. Know your demographics! What a hot mess! Certainly glad I don’t work for that company; I’d definitely start updating my resume! While I’m sure parent company, Anheuser-Busch has enormously deep pockets, you can’t tell me that a $5B hit in market share within two weeks won’t mean layoffs. It’s already reported that some distributors are financially hurting from this disastrous marketing stunt.
So where am I going with this?
As Christians, people are watching us. They are evaluating how we “market our brand.” Are we authentic ambassadors for Christ? The way we “market” ourselves as Christians can either bring more people to Christ; or turn them away.
And it is your responsibility. Like it or not, God chose people to share the Gospel (Matthew 28:18-20). Admittedly, if I were God, I’m not sure I would have entrusted this assignment to people. But He did and it’s a good thing for everyone that I’m not the one calling the shots because I’m nowhere near as gracious and generous and merciful and loving as He is. So we all have a job to do. As my favorite pastor, Greg Laurie has said, “It’s the Great Commission, not the Great Suggestion.”
The great news — you don’t have to wonder who you need to reach. The target demographics for Christianity are pretty broad: all men, women, and children from all nationalities and all walks of life and all socio-economic backgrounds and all levels of education, and even people like me who believe pineapple goes on pizza. God wants to reach ALL of humanity.
Even people who think, act, believe, and live the complete opposite of the way you do.
And that’s hard. I admit that I often have to pray for the Lord to give me the eyes that see people the way Jesus does; because it doesn’t come naturally to me.
To be clear, Christianity isn’t a brand to be sold. But it is a label to be worn with deliberate care. We are followers of Christ! If you’ve repented of your sins and accepted Jesus as your personal Savior — then you must present yourself as a follower of Christ! We do that by living the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and surrendering our will in favor of God’s (Psalm 143:10, Matthew 26:39, John 4:34).
People are watching. The Bud Light drama will eventually fade away, but the way you represent your faith can have eternal significance for someone else.
So this week, as you pray, ask God to equip you to be a strong ambassador for Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in His will, not your own. And ask Jesus to give you the eyes to see others as He does.
SHARING ••• My Grace-Full Life is written by Denise Heidel. You are welcome to share anything I write, but please credit my writing and graphics accordingly. Visit www.MyGraceFullLife.com to read past blogs. Subscribe through my website to have My Grace-Full Life delivered to your email. You can unsubscribe at any time. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the NKJV translation.
