A few years ago, I wrote a book called, Nobodies for Jesus: 14 Days toward a Great Commission Lifestyle—a book about being so fascinated with Jesus that we don’t worry about getting recognition from others. All we want is to make sure others know the name of Jesus.
In today’s post, though, I’m thinking about “somebody’s” in our lives. Here are seven that come to mind for me—including “somebody’s” we don’t often realize are there:
- Somebody’s watching you and me. Maybe that somebody is looking for a positive example of a Christian. Others might be watching to see if we might fall from our faith. It’s also possible that somebody is watching us simply because they believe in us and want to learn from our walk with God. Whatever the reason, somebody’s watching.
- Somebody’s listening to you and me. Our words matter primarily because Jesus told us they do (Matt 12:36), but they also matter because somebody’s listening. Somebody hears that off-color joke—sometimes inadvertently. Somebody’s listening to our bragging. Somebody hears our cursings and blessings that come from the same mouth (James 3:10). On the other hand, someone also hears when we praise the Lord or share the gospel. I say it again: somebody’s listening.
- Somebody’s “reading” you and me. That is, somebody’s watching us to learn what it means to be “Christian.” That somebody knows we claim to be Christ-followers, so he or she evaluates Christianity on the basis of our life. Somebody reads our faithfulness and finds joy, but somebody else reads our hypocrisy and doubts our walk. As long as anyone else is around us, we are a book somebody’s reading.
- Somebody’s following you and me. This somebody might, in fact, be the most convicting one to me. Your somebody might be your spouse and/or your children. Another friend, co-worker, or family member is making choices based on watching us. This somebody challenges me as I ask the question, “If somebody modeled his or her Christian life after mine today, would I be pleased that somebody is following in my steps?”
- Somebody’s reaching out to you and me. Here, I think of the woman with the blood disease who reached out to touch Jesus’ garment in Mark 5:25-34. Jesus was on his way to address the emergency of a synagogue leader’s daughter facing death, but He did not miss the touch of this hurting woman along the way. Somebody’s reaching out to us, too, so may God give us the spiritual sensitivity to feel the touch of anyone crying out for help around us!
- Somebody’s waiting to hear the gospel from us. Four billion+ people have little or no access to the gospel. It’s also likely at least one classmate, co-worker, neighbor, or family member is not a Christ-follower; but, somebody’s just waiting to hear. Somebody is chasing peace, but he or she is looking in all the wrong places. It’s our job to get the gospel to our neighbors and the nations, trusting that somebody is just waiting to hear.
- Somebody’s our Creator, Redeemer, and Coming King. That’s Jesus, of course—and He’s not just somebody. He’s the Son of God, worthy of our following. Indeed, God is in the process of conforming us to the image of this “Somebody” (Rom 8:29). As God does that work in us, we won’t worry so much about others watching us, listening to us, reading us, following us, or reaching out to us. Instead, we’ll live for Jesus and work well to make sure others know Him.
Which “somebody” catches your attention?