Is There Evidence?

I love watching television dramas, especially those involving court cases or detective work. There are some cases where the detectives have to dig deep and look everywhere to find the evidence needed to bring charges against someone. For others, it is an open and shut case, no real stretch to find the evidence of what had taken place.

As I was reading to our church Sunday night, a verse of Scripture hit me in a way that I have never noticed before. Here is the passage and here is what opened my eyes. John wrote, "My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples." (John 15:8 HCSB) We know that we are called to produce fruit. Scripture says it more than once. We are to desire to glorify God in our lives. These are things that most everyone knows, especially those who have spent more than a month in church. What caught me was the end of the verse.

Notice what Jesus said. God is glorified not only by the fruit that is produced in our lives, but also by the proof that we are disciples of Christ. Think about it. Anyone can say that they are a believer. Anyone can attend a service. Anyone can sing a hymn or a praise and worship song and furthermore, anyone can say a prayer. What is to be seen is whether or not there is evidence, or proof, that we are disciples of Jesus Christ.

There was a saying I heard years ago that said "If someone accused you of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict?" Such was the heart of Jesus' words in this passage. Not that we simply say we are Christians, as acknowledgment of our faith is important, but do we live what we say we believe? Are we living what we are proclaiming? Is it a lifestyle or just another box to check off on some form we are filling out?

As we live in a day and time of increasing "convenient Christianity", a type of faith that is used only when it is necessary or needed, the Lord is looking for evidence. He is looking to see if the cross is etched into our hearts and if the Spirit is flowing through our veins. The Lord is looking to see if our lives show marks of being crucified with Christ or if they are a reflection of the world without any real transformation. Convenient Christianity turns out to be costly when we stand before God. Being a true disciple of Christ brings reward when we are face-to-face with the Lord.

Tonight, I pose this question to myself and to anyone who is reading these words. Is there evidence of your faith beyond what you say? If you were on trial by a jury of your peers, would they convict you of being a Christian or would the verdict be that there was not enough evidence to convict? Jesus did not say that God would be glorified if we said that we are Christians, then walk on with our lives. Jesus said that God would be glorified if we proved to be disciples of His, that the evidence was there to substantiate the claim that we are followers of Christ, that we have, in Paul's words "been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." (Galatians 2:20 HCSB) That is the evidence that the Lord is looking for today.