“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,”
After Christmas break, we all went back to school, and the same subject would come up: “What did you get for Christmas?” For some, this was a welcome subject, and for others, it was one to be avoided. As kids, we were laser-focused on things and toys; the more we had, the more we wanted. Not just mounds of toys, but it had to be the newest thing because the old things were not worth boasting about. There was always that one kid who always got the latest and greatest toy and would not stop bragging and boasting about it. We always knew what he was going to talk about when he walked up to the group.
It is hard to find people who boast about Christ in today’s world. When the subject is approached in a group, we apologize our way into it or dance around it as if not to get too deep. We treat Christ as a “behind the curtain” thing for the most part. Just think of preachers of large churches—they could not go anywhere without being noticed as “the preacher from that big church.” Imagine how awkward it would be to see a very popular pastor of a church come up to you, and your conversation is about home improvement. Right, you expect that the conversation would somehow be turned or shifted to Christianity and your walk with Christ. You might even expect an invitation to church. I am not picking on pastors, but you get the picture. We expect pastors to boast about Christ all the time on Sundays and even in regular conversations.
Imagine you are a great NBA player, and every time you have an audience, you are expected to say something about being an NBA All-Star or an NFL MVP player. What these people do every day somehow defines part of their life in everyone else’s eyes. I am a geologist, and sadly, I don’t get rushed with questions about geology or the oil and gas business, but it does define me for some of my friends. They say, “He is a geologist,” and everyone nods their head as if they have read a definition of Doug.
If you follow Christ, then there should be a boasting that goes on about Christ. Not on a preacher level, but ask the question to yourself: “Do my friends know that I love God and that I am a follower of Christ?” Can people say that they see Christ in your life because that is the way you live? Is He on the tip of your tongue, or is He behind the curtain?
The Shroud of Turin was a large cloth that separated the Holy of Holies from the other places of the temple. Not just anyone was permitted to go or could go behind the shroud. When the priest went behind the shroud, they wore a bell and rope tied around their waist so everyone on the other side could hear them walking around to make sure they were not dead in the presence of the Lord. That shroud was ripped in two when Christ died on the cross, meaning Christ is not behind anything—He is in front of us and not behind some barrier. Today, I practice boasting about the Lord. He should be in front of you, and everyone should see Him moving in your life. You should boast about the understanding of the Lord and that He delights in kindness, justice, and righteousness. What you are boasting about is what you worship. Let us show Christ and boast about Christ in all we do.
Prayer: Father, I pray that we work You into every conversation we have. I pray that our witness for Christ is well known to everyone we meet. I pray that we continually pray to You every day and live an out-front Christian lifestyle and not one that is behind the scenes. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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