Under Constant Surveillance

We are under constant surveillance. Walk in a store or down the street in our major cities, chances are that someone is watching your every move. But not just law enforcement and store security, but co-workers, family members, neighbors, and friends are watching to see if our Christianity is only a religion practiced on Sundays or a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. We are to 'have your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that while they mays speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.' (1 Peter 2:12). So, what impresses the world positively for Christ? Peter gives us the answer in his conclusion to the section on 'Lifestyle Evangelism.' The world watches our UNITY. Do we live in harmony with other brothers and sisters in Christ? Is there within our fellowship the 'unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace'? The world watches our LOVE, the compassion we show for one another, the empathy we feel, the way we support and care for one another. The world watches our humility-- the way that we get out of the way and allow Christ to shine through us. They are also impressed by the way we handle adversity and mistreatment, not answering in kind, but taking the higher road of repaying evil with good and forgiving those who sin against us. These are the virtues that distinguish us from the world surrounding us. And when they are found among us, people are drawn to Jesus Christ. This sermon ends by noting that not only does the world watch us, so does God! We live under His constant surveillance, and this alone should be motivation for us to live a life pleasing to God.