Airlines and airports are places full of announcements every day. It is an essential part of the industry because it informs people and gives them necessary information and directions. There are announcements at the gates to prepare people for boarding a flight, flight crews make announcements on airplanes to instruct people about safety measures that prepare them for the flight, and the flight deck makes announcements about the progress of the flight or possible turbulence ahead. Announcements give people information they need to know and sometimes what they want to know.
Are you aware that you are constantly making announcements in the way you live your daily life? For instance, people may not hear but see the object of your faith by what you put your trust and hope in. You especially announce this to them with your actions when things cannot be explained in human terms, and yet you keep your focus on God. It declares to them what or whom you believe in.
Then there is the announcement your life makes regarding what is important to you. We go to church and hear that the most important commandment is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves. Then we go to work where the atmosphere is one of self preservation, and most seem to care only about themselves and their own interests. If I adapt to this environment, my life is announcing that my number one concern is “me.” As Christians, we would say that God is not only interested in me personally, but He also is interested in others (Philippians 2:3-4). But does our life show this to others? When my life transmits that I love God first and love others as myself, it makes a loud and clear announcement that will get people’s attention.
Imagine seeing a passenger who is a foreigner lost at the airport and cannot speak your language. They are in need to catch their flight but do not know where to go or how to ask. If they simply follow the masses of people at the airport, thinking they could be led to their flight, they may never find it. But if they go to a person wearing a uniform with emblems, representing the airline they were flying, they will find immediate help finding their way to the gate.
As Christians, our life is like a daily public announcement, making statements to the people around us. Many of these people are lost and distressed in their circumstances. They do not know where they are going in this life, or in eternity. The only notable thing that can help them is people wearing markings that point them in the right way. Though Christians don’t wear uniforms and emblems to identify themselves, their lives do have God’s markings on them. These markings may not be spelled out in letters, but the apparent emblems of kindness, patience, forgiveness, and love cannot help but be noticed by people. It points them in the right direction … to God.
Maybe ask yourself, “Does my life announce to the people around me that there is someone greater than me, greater than my company, and one who has first place in my life?” My relationship with God should compel me in such a way that though people do not know God, they can see His works and marks in my life! God has made Himself known to us personally, so we can make Him known to others. (PMC)
“Therefore, we are ambassadors of Christ, God making His appeal to others through us …be reconciled to God. ” ( 2 Corinthians 5:20)