On Wednesday nights after the high school Bible study Missy, Katie and I always head over to Starbucks to spend some time visiting together. Last night was no exception, but we were at Borders because there were no empty tables at Starbucks. We caught up on all that happened over the weekend, shared how our small groups had gone that night and laughed a lot together. As these conversations often tend, we got into a serious discussion about Christianity.

Missy was sharing about a co-worker who isn’t a believer and thinks we are all just a joke. (To read her blog about it, click here [1] Fixing My Eyes) I had been skimming through a book I found in the “Christian Books” section and read a line that said, “Christianity is a much better noun than adjective.” It seems that when most people think of the title “Christian” two words come to mind: hypocritical and judgmental. We all feel frustrated by this image and thought of different reasons why non-believers might make this conclusion about us. Could it be hopeless, joyless living, fear, disunity among us, unforgiving, unloving attitude? I don’t know if any of our ideas pegged the real problem, but it became clear as I listened to my friends ponder this sad reality that the hypocrisy-Christian association is often very true. We say we are free from sin, and yet we continue to live in it. We say we’ve been forgiven, but will not exercise grace toward others. We say our lives have meaning and purpose, but we live in the same frenzy of worry and confusion as everybody else. What a confusing message some Christians send!

I remembered a verse in Titus which says we ought to “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.” (Titus 2:10) Carolyn Mahaney writes about this in her book Feminine Appeal, making the point that our conduct has a direct influence on how people around us will think about the gospel. Mahaney says, “Make no mistake, by adorning the gospel, we are not enhancing or improving it” but she exhorts women to cultivate godly qualities because they will show “the transforming effect of the gospel in the lives of women–women who have turned from their sins and trusted the Savior, women whose sins have been forgiven and whose hearts have been changed.”

“Adorn” is not a very common word. When I hear it I think of wearing something, clothes perhaps. I really liked what Katie said about it. That “adorn” makes her think of jewelry, as if you are wearing something so it can be displayed. I thought this hit the nail right on the head. We are not forcing some qualities out of ourselves when we are in a “witnessing situation” nor are we making attractive the saving work of Christ. But when the Gospel is simply and purely “on display” in a person’s life it is surprising and compelling to all who see it.

Why don’t we live this way? Why does it seem that we are adorned with anxiety, fear, unhappiness, discontent, gossip and apathy? Maybe we forget about the Gospel, what it means and how that matters to our lives each day. Maybe we don’t really feel that we know God. Because if these are true of us, we then have to force some semblance of a dynamic virtuous life to appear when necessary. But this is not Paul’s exhortation in Titus 2. What is on display in our lives is what is on in our hearts. The challenge for us is to immerse ourselves in the Word so that we will seek and find God intimately. In doing this we would not easily forget the price of our salvation or the gracious God who transforms us each day into the likeness of His Son.

If we are having a hard time “looking” like a Christian externally, what we are really having a hard time with is being a Christian internally. We don’t need to try to put on the outer clothes of Christianity so we might appear righteous to others. We need to devote ourselves to studying the Word, seeking the Lord in prayer and sharpening each other in fellowship so that the transforming work of salvation inside will be what everyone sees on display outside.