Last Friday, I received an offer to go back to work for the state at a temporary (4 ½ month) position. It’s the same department I worked in last year in Boise. It will mean extra money to cover the added expenses we’ve had this year, which is a big bonus. Plus, it is working with the same people as last year, people I grew to like very much. The only negatives are the commute (60-mile round trip) and that I will be spending every spare moment outside of work keeping up with my studying and writing.
I must have made a good enough impression in this department that I’m being asked to return. Wherever I have worked, I’ve tried very hard to do just that. I am open about my belief in Christ and I don’t hide the fact that I am a pastor. I understand that people will often evaluate Jesus by my words and actions.
When I was a new Christian 45 years ago, I read a verse in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. It became what is often called a “life verse.” “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” [Col 3:17 NKJV]
I want my life to be a living testimony of Christ Jesus, my Lord, so everything I do, whether inside church or outside church, whether word or deed, needs to be “in the name of the Lord Jesus.” That means, it needs to reflect Him as the Resurrection, Life, Truth, Living Water, Daily Bread, Great I Am, Provider, Healer, Sustainer, Savior, Lord, Master, Teacher, Lover of Souls, Friend of Sinners. And my life must also be one of continual gratefulness and expressed thanksgiving.
That is what I aspire to, I haven’t always lived up to it. One thing I have learned is that to live a good testimony means a constant dependence upon His Spirit to empower my witness.
