“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” — Acts 4:13
I was at a public place one day, and I noticed a group of friends trying to introduce someone to another friend. The person was not getting the clue, so they finally told him whose girlfriend the girl was. Then he got it.
It made me think about how often we are known because of our relationships. We may be introduced as someone’s friend, someone’s sibling, someone’s child, or someone’s colleague. Sometimes, knowing who we are connected to is enough for people to know who we are.
But there is a deeper question for the Christian: Whose are you?
The people who saw Peter and John in Acts 4 did not know everything about them, but they recognized something: they had been with Jesus. Their association with Jesus had become evident.
We may have Christian names, attend church, belong to a Christian family, or have many Christian friends. But these things do not answer the deepest question of our identity.
We belong to Christ.
And if we truly belong to Him, it should not remain merely a statement we make. It should become something people can recognize in the way we speak, the way we treat others, the things we pursue, the choices we make, and the way we respond when no one is watching.
People often know us by whose friend we are. Can they know that we are Christ’s by the way we live?
Not because we are trying to prove that we are Christians, but because we have been with Jesus.
Lord Jesus,
Make my life evident that I belong to You.
Let my words, choices, and conduct show that I have been with You.
May people not only know me by whom I know,
but recognize You through the way I live.
Amen.