In Other Words 2

“Salt, when dissolved in water, may disappear,
but it does not cease to exist.
We can be sure of its presence by tasting the water.
Likewise, the indwelling Christ, though unseen,
will be made evident to others from the
love which He imparts to us.”
~ Sadhu Sundar Singh ~

We all have different aspects to our characters, we don't need to tell someone about them, they will be obvious as people get to know us. You can't keep your short-temperedness a secret for too long or the fact that you are grumpy in the mornings or that you are hopeless at time keeping or ... As people spend time with you they come to realise these things about you, hopefully they also realise your good qualities too! That you are a good listener or that you are patient with children or that you are great at encouraging people or ... I'm sure you can think of your own good or bad character traits. In the same way as people get to know us they should come to see Christ's love in us. I'm not too good at telling strangers about my faith but I hope that my friends can see that Christ is in me, even if imperfectly, as I struggle with God's help to develop the better aspects of my character.

"It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.

But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely."

Galatians 5 v19-23 (The Message)