Just by the Look

Bluegrass festivals are not regular events in my family because, while we play bluegrass instruments (acoustic guitar, bass guitar, banjo, violin, mandolin), our repertoire is divided between what we call "instrument songs" and "piano songs." However, when invited for the Bluegrass Gospel Night at Pecan Ridge a few years back, we put together enough songs to make the forty-five minute time slot and went to minister. Being bluegrass exclusive meant that I was on my violin (secondary instrument), maybe the bass guitar (third instrument), but never the piano (main instrument).

After we finished singing, a man went up to Mom and made the comment, "The girl with the glasses--is she your pianist?" His accurate guess shocked me. How in the world could he know when I had no piano to even look at? He could somehow tell by my mannerism (Do all pianists have this certain "mannerism?").

This question set my mind to work and I have often asked myself since then: Can others tell, just by looking at me, that I'm a Christian--even if I'm not "in my element?"

So often, Christians rely on obvious externals to mark their walk with the Lord (e.g. T-shirts with Scripture quotes, mentioning the church we attend, toting a Bible and tracts, and even frequently saying things like "Praise God" or "Lord willing"). While our dress and mannerism is vital, anyone can wear the "right clothes" and say the "right things" to label them as "Christian"--whether or not they are genuinely so.

Have you ever been to a store and the cashier is just as lovely as can be? All smiles, cheerful, light shining in their eyes. My dad often asks these workers if they know Jesus Christ as their Savior and they just beam in reply. How did he know? There wasn't a tally of what "looked right" on the outside, but rather the evidence of what was right on the inside that could be detected just by the look.

"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Galatians 5:25