Hope 4 Today: Staying Connected To God In A Distracted CultureSample

Acting or Being?

I watched from a window as the women scrubbed clothes in the muddy river. A cow waded upstream as children dodged trash on the bank. The smell of rotting garbage and sewage made it hard to breathe. New Life Church in Chennai, India, sits across the river, and I was climbing the stairs to the church offices when I stopped at an open window. I was teaching theatrical acting classes at a media conference sponsored by OneHope International, and had been teaching students how to become the character instead of just acting the part. Having focused on taking in environments with all our senses, I took a deep choking breath and fixed my eyes on the river. I wanted to seal it all in my soul.

We often want to act the part as Christians. It’s easy to observe from afar. But to be true followers of Christ, we need to get our hands dirty in the muddy, smelly water of life. As I stood there, my host explained that the church regularly has teams of people bring food, clothing, and medical supplies—along with the love of Jesus—to these people. While it is challenging work, many have been rescued and come to know Jesus.

Are you stopping at the window to take in the culture, or are you rushing past? What’s one thing that you could do today to be the hands of God and not just act the part?