Friday, October 28, 2005

PUBLIC OFFICIALS

President Bush's recent nominee for the Supreme Court withdrew her name this week, much to the apparent delight of both liberal and conservative political pundits.

I was reflecting upon the process since and thinking about the intense scrutiny candidates are subjected to--and, perhaps, rightly so. The office of supreme court justice is a high and lofty one and we are entitled to know what a potential justice may be thinking about key issues. I guess.

It just seems as if no one can survive such intense examination, doesn't it? They are labeled and pronounced "guilty" of whatever seems contradictory to the subjective opinions of those who feel it is their duty to make such judgments.

But, then, we are all public people to varying degrees. We have our spheres of influence--some greater than others--and people are watching us and making their own judgments about us.

Jesus said that "all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another", John 13:35. By this very statement He assures us people will be watching us and our conduct in terms of our interpersonal relationships will have much to say about the legtimacy of our faith and service to God.

We may not be public officials but as believers we are public witnesses to our faith in Christ. People will make their own pronouncements about us, but if they are going to discern the valdity of our relationship to God it will be because of how we treat one another within the body of Christ.

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