"Making God Look Good"

“Making God Look Good”

Years ago a speaker at a political gathering commented that his counterpart in the opposing party had an almost impossible task: making its incumbent candidate look good. Over the four decades since I first heard this I’ve asked myself how much trouble those who know me have had making me look good. But it’s not about me—the real question is what they’d say about how I’ve made God look, which is one of the reasons He’s put me on earth (“Let your light so shine before {people}, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”—Matthew 5:16, NKJV, emphasis added).

As he walked with Jesus during His earthly ministry Peter had his ups and downs—think of his great confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16) and his denying that he knew Him three times the night before His crucifixion. But he was changed through the Holy Spirit’s power and became a key leader in the early church. As he neared the end of his life he counseled his readers (us included) in this way: “Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” (1 Peter 2:11-12, emphasis added). The highlighted statements tell us to get rid of ungodly attitudes and actions and adopt a lifestyle which puts God’s ways into practice in our lives before those who may be evaluating Jesus by watching us. D.L. Moody once said, “The Christian’s life is the world’s Bible.” How am I being read? (See my earlier thoughts on this topic in “Living Letters”.)

The reason the Apostle gives for this “put off/put on” is that those we rub shoulders with might see God in us by our integrity borne out through acts of kindness and sacrifice. But the only reason for us to look good before the world is to point others to God. Paul put it like this: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ….” (Galatians 6:14). The final phrase of a great old hymn says, “My glory all the cross”. As we take this purpose seriously the glory won’t stop with us but reflect who God is and glorify Him. So I need to ask with the late New York City Mayor Ed Koch, “How’m I doin’?” in making God look good.

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan