Ordinary Moments – Sep 20

Steven PutmanLiturgy

Be Sure to Look the Part

I used to coach my oldest son in soccer when he was younger. As he got older, he would go to tryouts for select and high school teams. I was no longer the coach, but I always shared with him one piece of advice before any tryout: Be sure to look the part. I told him that if he showed up looking like a soccer player, there was an increased chance of him being seen as a soccer player. If he showed up looking like a kid that plays soccer in video games as opposed to the real thing, he might not be taken seriously. As he grew older, that same advice was then applied to getting a job. It’s advice I have heeded myself all my life. You can even say it is like another common phrase: “Fake it till you make it.”

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we certainly do not want to fake it, but we do need to look the part. The world looks at those of us who proclaim to be Christians to see if there is anything to this way of life. If they see us looking and acting like people transformed by Jesus Christ, they will be more likely to take Christianity seriously. If they look at us and see nothing different, then they can easily conclude that there is nothing different about Jesus Christ. He just becomes simply another religious figure of history. Can the world see the power of Christ in you? How will do you look the part?

– Tracy Earl Welliver