In Denial

Matthew 26
69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean." 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." 72 And again he denied it with an oath: "I do not know the man." 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you." 74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know the man." And immediately the rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.

This account of Peter's denial of Christ always prompts me to examine myself and find if I deny Christ in my life.  My denial may not be as blatant as Peter's, but still the same, a denial.

The fist two questionings of Peter's association of Christ were from two servant girls. And to be technical, they weren't questions, but statements: "this man was with Jesus." Peter denied both times. The third time a bystander could tell Peter was with Jesus just by the way he talked (his accent).

Do people know you are a Christian without you telling them? By who you associate with? By how you talk?

If the answer is "yes" (and it may be "yes" without you knowing it), the next question is equally important: "Does any of your actions deny your association with Christ?"

How's your driving etiquette? Are you rude on the road? You may not honk your horn at everybody, but do you bad mouth the person in your car? Just remember, they can see your mouth moving and the expression on your face - and I bet they can see that little fish you have on your bumper.

How are you at restaurants when the service isn't too great?
Or when they mess up your order at Dunkin's or McD's?

My questions can go on and on, I brought these up because I am learning not to let these kind of situations cause me to deny Christ to a lost and hurting world. Whenever I behave un-Christlike I deny Him. I may never have to face any of the mentioned people again, but another Christian might. And guess why, the world lumps all of us together - so if one person is a bad representative for Christ, we all are seen that way.

One last example to help you think about what your actions say to others:
Next December when you are doing your gift shopping and the clerk wishes you "Happy Holidays," don't respond with "Hey, don't take Christ out of Christmas," but rather respond with a "Merry Christmas."