More Than Words

I enjoy a variety of music from different genres, but rock/pop songs from the ‘80s and ‘90s will always be among my favorites. In 1991 a particular song, More Than Words, was played on repeat across pop radio stations. In the song, the vocalist tells his love that saying ‘I love you’ is not as important as showing him her love. He sings, “what would you say if I took those words away…then you couldn’t make things new just by saying I love you”. As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words.

I do sometimes worry what my own actions might be saying. If I move throughout my day as usual but say nothing about my faith, would others still recognize me as a Christian? What if I could no longer speak at all? Would my behavior reflect my faith? At the Last Supper, Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ****By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”, John 13:34-35. Does my love for others set me apart? Does yours?

I know I fall short of showing God’s love daily. In my interactions I can be impatient, abrupt, or rude. I don’t always give people the attention they deserve. Sometimes, a lot of the time, I just want to be left alone so I don’t have to use up my energy to serve others in the way that they need. To an outside observer of me at these times, it would be shocking to learn that I am a Christian. My faith should be obvious even if I never utter a word.

A quote often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi is “I don’t reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It’s just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ.” While there is some dispute as to whether this is an actual Gandhi quote, the sentiment expressed is important. After all Jesus himself said everyone should recognize we are His disciples. Very often we unfortunately look and act just like anyone else - at least I do. I think those days that my behavior seems so far removed from Christ might just be days when I am quite literally far from Christ. I am far from Him because I haven’t spent time with Him that day- no prayer, no Bible, no fellowship with other Christians, just me left to my own devices. And this circles back to spiritual disciplines; they have to be an intentional, daily priority. Otherwise it is far too easy to fall back into the habits and actions that are like everyone else and unlike Jesus. And then suddenly we become ‘believers’, but not ‘followers’ of Christ. We can believe that Jesus is who He says He is, but we need to be followers by doing His will and striving to be more like Him each day. Then through following and repetition, our natural inclinations start to change and our actions become more aligned with His.

This is a life long process that will not come into completion this side of heaven. It is also a process that does not follow a straight line. It’s more of a squiggly line moving up and down and then backwards and forward again because life can get messy and sometimes hard. Still, a goal of every Christian should be to be recognized as a Christian in more than words. Even in silence, let your faith be seen.