You are the Evidence!

The people kept thinking that Paul would either swell up or suddenly drop dead. They watched him for a long time, and when nothing happened to him, they changed their minds and said, “This man is a god.”

Acts 28:6

“Lord what do you want me to do today?” If Paul had asked that question on the day the ship wrecked on the island of Malta the answer would have been, “Pick up sticks for a fire and get bitten by a poisonous snake!”

God was glorified when Paul was not harmed by the snake. The people watching got it wrong at first. They thought Paul was a god rather than a servant of God, but he straightened them out on that.

Paul was not a snake handler. The Bible never says he picked up snakes and played with them to glorify God. It does say that he got bitten by a snake and that glorified God. When I try to prove to the world that God is with me I will ultimately fail. When God proves to the world that He is with me everyone will know that God is the power behind the things that I do.

The difference between those two things is very significant. In the first place I try to lay out the evidence to show the world that God is with me. I say look that this or look at that and know that God is one who is responsible. When God proves to the world that He is with me I don’t present the evidence, I am the evidence. It is not what I say about my life that shows His glory. It is my life itself that shows His glory.

If I were to declare to you that I was from Africa and am a member of the Zulu tribe how would you judge whether or not I was telling the truth. Well if you know anything about the Zulu tribe you would know that am too short and certainly too fat to be a Zulu warrior. I also don’t know how to speak the language. And when you look at my skin you know that the pigment I display is not consistent with being a Zulu. So you would know, even though I “witnessed” with fervor, that I am not from the Zulu tribe.

If I were a Zulu you probably wouldn’t need more than a word of confirmation to know that I am indeed a Zulu. I might only need to say the word Zulu and point my finger at myself and you would know.

As a follower of Jesus I may declare with great fervor that I am a Christian, but the proof is not in what I say, but rather in what the world sees when they look at my life.

Remember, you are the evidence!