Undercover

A few weeks ago while traveling, my husband and I actually witnessed a covert sting operation going down right before our very eyes!  We don’t usually get exposed to this sort of excitement in the small quiet town where we live so it seemed to make quite an impression on us. We had stopped to grab a quick dinner just inside a major metropolitan area and upon leaving the restaurant after our meal, we noticed quite a commotion stirring up directly in front of us. We were real life eyewitnesses to undercover detectives taking down drug dealers in broad daylight!

Of course there were a swarm of plain clothed officers gathered around the criminals, along with weapons, handcuffs and plenty of suspense involved in this precarious situation.  Once this maneuver was completed and the drug dealers were contained and taken into custody, the undercover police officers jumped into their unmarked sport utility vehicle parked right next to us and then quickly sped away.  I was amazed at the outward appearance of these undercover cops because they blended in so well with all of the criminals they had caught.  No one would ever have guessed that they were policemen by the way they looked.

 After all of the excitement and flurry had passed, my mind began to pour over all of the possibilities of how dangerous this situation could have turned out to be.  As I thought of the special skills and abilities the police officers had to possess to be able fit in so well with the criminals they surrounded, I was also reminded of the fact that we don’t even have to work in law enforcement in order to go ‘undercover’.  Sadly, there are many of us who involve ourselves in special covert operations on a daily basis and some of us even choose to live our entire existence undercover.

 Our churches are full of them.  Our youth groups are full of them.  Our Christian families are full of them too.  Undercover Christians are everywhere!  No matter who we are, no matter where we live, people are disguising themselves with the ultimate goal of just "fitting in”. Who exactly are these people that are trying so hard to be undercover Christians anyway and why are they so determined to simply blend in with the crowd?

These people are plain clothed “Christ followers” who have no desire whatsoever to stand out for any reason at all.  They have adapted the world’s “herd” mentality and have no plan to ever stray from the influence of the majority group.   We may believe that the tendency for Christians to go undercover diminishes when we enter into adulthood, but I have found that this couldn’t be further from the truth.  There are many Christian adults who continue on with the same old goal of lying low under the radar, going with the flow and living status quo.  Their whole goal in life is to go unnoticed and never care to stand up or stand out for Christ and what He teaches in His Word.  If many adults are choosing to live in this kind of apathetic spiritual existence, why in the world would they be concerned about their children behaving the very same way?  They follow the wide easy road that doesn’t require any effort, rather than standing firm and going against the lukewarm philosophies that have seeped into many Christian’s heart belief systems.
Whatever happened to standing up for what’s right, being bold for Christ and making a difference for His kingdom for eternity?  Year after year passes and we all too often remain unmoved, unchanged, and unmotivated in our spiritual lives.  Many times we’re so consumed with the newest technological gadget, the latest avenue of social media, or the greatest products on the market to make our lives more luxurious.  We are more enamored and distracted with the world and all of its glitter than we are concerned about making a mark for Christ in this world.  We waste precious time living in apathy, unconcerned about much more than the latest movie, television show or music that the world puts out there for our entertainment.  We continue to focus on the temporal rather than the eternal. Where will all of these covert Christian operations lead our marriages, families, churches and society?  I am certain that our spiritual  apathy will never ever allow us to lead anyone to Christ.  Christians cannot show the lost and dying world that we’ve got the solution to their problems through the cross of Jesus if they cannot even see any trace of visible difference in our lives in comparison to how they live.    

How will anyone ever see a difference if we all look the same?

·         Our entertainment is no different.

·         The way we dress is no different.

·         The way we treat others is no different.

·         The way we react when we are offended is no different.

·         How we respond to trials in our life is no different.

·         How we spend our time is no different.

·         What we spend our money on is no different.

·         Our marriages and families are no different.

·         Our parenting is no different.

 We’re so intent on looking just like the world that we’ve lost our effectiveness!  But do we even care anymore?  As a child, one of my favorite songs was “This Little Light of Mine”. The second verse of this song references how we shouldn’t hide our light under a bushel but let it shine brightly.  Too many of us have lights that we’re trying so hard to hide in hopes of “blending in” that no one will ever be able to see the Savior.  Jesus Himself told believers in Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they ‘light a lamp’ and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your lights so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” 

Back in Bible times people used oil lamps to light up the whole house so that everyone could see when the sun went down.  It was absurd to think of someone lighting up a lantern simply to take it and hide it under a basket or bushel and remain in the dark.  Instead, Jesus is saying that they would want to put it on a lamp stand so that everyone would be able to clearly see from the bright flame.  When Jesus tells us to “Let our lights so shine before men”, He is not merely making a helpful suggestion for His children.  This is a serious command for us to follow with intent so that the lost will see the light of the Savior.

 Our attraction to the world and desire to “fit in” has caused our lights to become so dimmed or completely go out all together. If we find ourselves in this undercover, unconcerned state of heart and mind then we must realize that there is most definitely an area of sin that needs to be confessed somewhere deep within us.  When our torch for Christ is dim and we only desire mediocrity, we must search ourselves and ask God to reveal whatever sin resides there and quickly confess it.

There comes a time in life when we’ve tried the things the world has to offer and we finally realize that it’s all a lie and none of it brings any peace or contentment.  Unbelievers are searching for answers and they will not find those solutions when we’re undercover, hiding our lights that have been dimmed by sin. We should be ready to share how Christ is the ONLY way to find the peace and joy they are desperately searching for.

I’m not at all implying that we should be a fake plastic examples like I used to be!  I’m being RADICAL and suggesting that each of us actually humbles ourselves in order to clean out all of the ugly sin we’ve been harboring.  Having a pure heart is what will allow us to live the authentic, abundant, shining lights that will draw others to salvation.  In Philippians 2:15 we are told to, “…become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”

As you humbly examine your own heart in this area, have you been posing as an undercover Christian who wants to blend in with the crowd?  Has your apathy caused your light to shine dim or go out all together?  Have you adapted the “go with the flow” philosophy that runs so rampant in our Christian families, churches and schools today?  As our time on this earth draws closer to an end, we must purpose to follow God completely and passionately by drawing people to Him through our brightly shining lights.  No more covert operations!