Technicolor Joy: A Seven-Day Devotional by Skip HeitzigSample

Be the Telescope

Paul was determined for Christ to "be magnified in [his] body" (Philippians 1:20) because he knew that was how God would get His message to an unbelieving world: through His people's mouths, feet, and hands. That's why Paul elsewhere told believers to "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God" (Romans 12:1) and "offer every part of yourself to [God] as an instrument of righteousness" (Romans 6:13, NIV). Isn't it humbling to think that God has given us bodies to convey the life of Christ and glorify God to the world?

Johann Sebastian Bach believed that everything in life should glorify Christ—including music. "The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul," he said. At the beginning of each of his musical compositions, he wrote the initials J.J.—Jesu juva, a Latin phrase translated "Jesus help me." At the end of all his compositions, he wrote the initials S.D.G.—soli Deo gloria, Latin for "to God alone be the glory." One of the world's greatest composers made sure he gave God all the glory. That was also Paul's main concern: to make Christ great.

But how do you make the greatest person who has ever lived any greater? How do you magnify Christ? Consider the stars in the Milky Way galaxy. To the naked eye, they look small or even nonexistent, but in reality, they're enormous. Some can be up to 2,000 times the radius of our sun. But you can't see the majority of the stars in our galaxy unless you have a telescope powerful enough to magnify them, in a sense bringing them closer to you.

Sadly, Jesus is something like a distant star to many people in this world. He seems beautiful, perhaps, but too far away to care about or bother with. Many people might never really see Jesus up close—unless your life becomes a telescope, so to speak, a lens that magnifies Him.

So, practically speaking, how can your life magnify Christ? I believe God wants you to sit down and think creatively, How can my hobby, desire, love, passion, occupation, or relationship be a vehicle to share the gospel message? Then, as unbelievers watch you tackle everyday life—especially trials and tribulations—Jesus ought to naturally come into view. When people see Him at work in the way you live, He'll start to look a whole lot bigger to them.

Take time to pray about how God can use you to magnify Jesus, then watch as He uses every area of your life to point others to Him. You will find that your life, like Paul's, is infused with joy unimaginable.