Wearing Your Faith on Your Sleeve
Everyone’s heard of wearing your heart on your sleeve, but did you know you could wear your faith on your sleeve as well?
It only goes to show how far astray our country has gone when its Christians are afraid to openly proclaim their faith, but during Mardi Gras men and women can have sex on the streets of New Orleans. It is because of this debauchery that so many people never accept Jesus Christ into their hearts-how can you come to know someone you can never see? Why are you going to hand your life over to someone who appears to play no role in the world around you?
This is what all of the non-Christians of the world see and believe. As a man or a woman of strong Christian faith it is up to you to break the cycle, and one way that you can do that is to wear your faith on your sleeve. Purchasing Christian themed clothing will show the world that you are not ashamed to be a Christian in a pagan world, and it is through you that others will come to know Jesus Christ. The Lord said that his people should go forth and teach the world about him. How are you going to do that if you continue to hide behind the restraints of popular culture?
This doesn’t mean that you have to set yourself up for ridicule. Yes, it would be a great service to stand on the street corner in your Christian clothing and preach the word, but it is not through these methods that people are brought to know God personally and if you do not feel that this is what you have been called to do you should not allow others to make you feel that your service to the Lord is any less. It is personal relationships with non-Christians that will eventually bring them into the light, and developing these relationships is what is going to allow you to bring them into the kingdom of God.
How can clothing help you to develop a relationship with a non-Christian, and show them the error of their ways? There are a number of reasons why non-Christians choose not to believe in the power of God: ignorance and fear. It is these two that you are going to be forced to combat when you go forth to spread the word of the Lord. These people do not know that the Lord Jesus Christ is anything other than a fairy tale told to children (after all, they have never seen him at work) and they are afraid that if they do proclaim their faith they will not only be wrong, they will be ridiculed by the people they considered to be their friends.
It is your job to show them that the Lord does exist, and that becoming a Christian will not make you a social pariah (you can explain to them how becoming a social pariah in the Lord’s name is worth it after they have accepted him into their hearts and understand the great things he can do; until then you are only going to be building their case about not becoming a Christian). Wearing your Christian clothing and going through every day with a smile and a sense of goodwill will show those struggling in the darkness that you are a Christian, and that you are proud to wear your faith on your sleeve.