What Do You Bring to the Table?

Over the past week, I’ve had several experiences that have made me think about something I’ve noticed repeatedly over the past few years: we seem to be becoming a culture of “just getting by.”

An order is wrong, an item isn’t available, a substitute isn’t offered, a machine doesn’t work, or a sale is advertised, but the discount isn’t honored. Sometimes the signs advertise something they no longer carry. The message says one thing, but the experience delivers something else.

And when that happens, the consumer is affected.

It made me stop and ask myself: Is it possible that I sometimes do the same thing in my Christian walk?

What am I advertising?

When I tell people I’m a Christian, I’m advertising something. My words, my actions, my attitudes, and the way I treat people all communicate what I claim to believe.

If I advertise love, is love available when someone needs it?

If I advertise patience, kindness, forgiveness, faithfulness, or self-control, are those things available when someone encounters me?

Galatians 5 reminds us of the fruit of the Spirit. Real fruit isn’t meant to stay on the tree, or it will rot. It’s not meant to stay on a shelf or in a basket; it will rot. Fruit is meant to be available and consumed.

Someone may come to my table needing patience, encouragement, kindness, or forgiveness. Am I too distracted to notice? What if I don’t care? What if I’m not fulfilling the responsibility God has given me to grow and bear fruit?

Our culture may be settling for “just getting by,” but we can’t afford to do that in our spiritual lives.

We shouldn’t advertise what we’re unwilling to provide.

So I’m asking myself:

What am I advertising?
What am I actually offering?
And when someone comes to my table, will they receive what I said was available?

Because what we portray matters.

What we advertise matters. But what we deliver matters even more.

Camille Adams is the Volunteer Outreach Specialist for Echoing Hills – a nonprofit ministry whose purpose is to create opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to know and experience Jesus Christ.

When not creating partnerships between volunteers and Echoing Hills, Camille enjoys writing songs and books, painting, drawing, and dabbling in photography.