The second commandment of Jesus…

"Let your good deeds shine out for all to see…"

This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, I sang in the "Cradle Roll" room. Dressed in my Sunday best along with the other toddlers I was singing about one of Jesus’ most important "commandments." I even remember some of the hand motions. Hide it under a bush, oh now, I’m going to let is shine…

Disciples of the Church have done a pretty bad job of being salt and light. Evangelicals are better known for narrowmindedness than they are known for compassion. While President Bush talked about compassionate conservatives his presidency has not shone with many examples.

In the aftermath of terrible calamities, well-known Christian leaders attribute them to God’s wrath and judgment against nations. Researchers publish books that seem to underscore that the culture thinks that Christians are, well, Un-Christian. Authors write that people like Jesus, but they hate the church. If we were General Motors, or Coca-Cola and had messed up our brand this much, we would change our name and logo and start all over.

Good deeds? Do we even have any idea what that means? Mother Teresa and World Vision come to mind when I think about good deeds. Feed the Children and the Red Cross ring a bell. Strangely, I don’t think about Joel Osteen, Rick Warren or, for that matter, Robert Schuller or Billy Graham. Am I missing something here?

Too many of us live our lives as "undercover" Christians. I think there is a good reason for this. Churches have emphasized church participation over "good deeds." So much time, energy and resources are spent in religious services and other church-centric activities that there is little time left for "good deeds." I may be on the rotation as a nursery volunteer, but not in the feed-the-homeless rotation, and that is perfectly normal.

Followers of Jesus give witness by their "good deeds." Not to earn their way to heaven, boy, is that an easy trap to fall into. Not to win the gold ribbon for outstanding community service. No, these good deeds flow naturally from the life of a follower of Jesus. You may be a committed church member. But check your good deed quotient. Are you a committed follower of Jesus? Followers of Jesus, let their good deeds shine.