Eric W. King ~ TSW, "The Shepherds Way": SOMEONE IS WATCHING YOU!

SOMEONE IS WATCHING YOU!

Carl B. Garner

Yes, that is right—someone is watching you (and me)—today, right now, and will be watching us tomorrow. I am not talking about someone peeping in our windows, but some are watching us. Every day, people we know, people we do not know, people we may never know—they are watching us to see how we live. They have heard that we are Christians (or claim to be), and they want to see if we are serious about it.

They want to know if we are real Christians or just “playing” at being Christians. This surveillance may make us a bit uneasy, because we realize that we have weaknesses and fail to live consistently with our own standards. However, one of the results of someone professing Christianity is that people want to know if our practice is in harmony with our profession. Some watch us to catch us in some compromising or hypocritical position. They may want to justify their own behavior by pointing out blemishes in our lives. Others watch because they have respect for our convictions, looking for a positive role model.

Whoever we are, many people we do not even know are watching and observing our lives and how we deal with life’s difficult issues.

1. Our children need a good role model. They should be able to follow our example. If they do, will our influence lead them to heaven? That’s a tough question, and all parents need to consider it.

2. Our spouses see us. No one knows us as well as they do, and our ways reveal our true character. Let us take a good look—is that how we want friends and fellow-Christians to remember us?

3. Our parents and Bible teachers are watching us. They have read to us from the scriptures; they have taught us the ways of God. They need to have confidence that our lives are on a heavenly course. That would be the very best gift we could leave behind for them.

4. Our friends are watching. They know we are Christians, but they also know if we really mean it when we sing, “O how I love Jesus” and “I want to be a worker for the Lord.” Can they have assurance of their role when they watch our lives?

5. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are watching us. They are not looking for mistakes, but for strength. They need the courage to make good decisions, and they hope to see them in our daily lives.

6. Jesus is watching us. He faced the same kind of temptations we are facing now. He endured temptation and torture and scorn because of His love for us. He died on the cross for us. Do our lives say, “I love you Lord, and I want to do your will”? Or, “Leave me alone, I want to do my own thing”?

Even when we think no one is watching, God is watching, and many others are, many of whom we may never meet. We may think we are unimportant, that no one notices us. But no one “lives to himself, and no man dies to himself” (Rom. 14:7). Our example today could be the very example that someone follows tomorrow. We must remember who and what we are, and whose we are. We belong to Him, and what a blessing that is! Yes, someone is watching you…and it may even be me.

Visit the: TSW Online Reading Room