Have you ever registered on a website and after entering certain information they advise that your identity needs to be confirmed? To accomplish this, they may require you to submit a photo along with a specific source of identification. Why is this? It is because the items they request are considered “valid” methods for proving who you say you are.

As Believers we often stand tall and proud as we proclaim & declare our faith before others but in doing so often forget what is required to validate that identity. In Matthew 5:16 NKJV Jesus tells us—Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven. This indicates that how we choose to live our lives, the things we do and say, will indicate to others who we are. It will prove whether we be that which we have proclaimed.

As I sat at my desk this morning seeking the Father He illuminated a scripture that reinforces the words of Jesus better than any. In Ephesians 5:3 AMP during his letter to the church in Ephesus the Apostle Paul writes: But sexual immorality and all moral impurity [indecent, offensive behavior] or greed must not even be hinted at among you, as is proper among saints [for as Believers our way of life, whether in public or in private, reflects the “validity” of our faith].

What a powerful and soul piercing statement! It immediately activates the internal process of self-examination, or soul searching. I quickly began to ask myself, “Does my way of life reflect the validity of my faith?”. I had to consider—do the words I speak & conversations I engage in; do my actions and responses, my mannerisms and overall conduct—do they reflect and validate the faith that I so boldly declare? In Luke 6:44 NKJV Jesus is recorded as stating—For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.

These statements specifically indicate that you cannot get one kind of fruit from a different kind of tree. A man should not be bearing the fruit of a liar while declaring faith in a God Who is truth. One should never practice the life of a thief while proclaiming faith in a God Who hates the act of stealing. These and many others are the types of questions that Word of God challenges me to ask myself. While the answers I discover are not always to my liking I ask and answer them still, as one will never know what they have planted in their soul until they allow the Holy Spirit to reveal it. And I would encourage every Believer to do the same as is our reasonable duty.

This has been a gentle reminder to let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven. For in doing so you reflect the validity of your faith.

Be Blessed!