In 1972, my dad lived in a multi tenanted house where a chronic drunkard lived. As he told us, this man would stagger from one end of the street to the other end shouting "No molest". He was drunk perpetually and was a womanizer as well.
On a certain day, my dad saw this man kneeling to pray. He was shocked to see the man praying. He observed him for weeks and discovered his life had changed. One day, he walked to him to know how the transformation happened.
This man told him that he went to church where his pastor preached against alcoholism and hell. That was where his transformation began. He forsook his sin and became committed to the Lord.
Hearing that, my dad who was not born again at that time asked for the address of his church. Though he was a church goer at that time but he was not in Christ yet. He decided to attend one of the services.
When he entered the church, the preacher described his sinful life and his journey to salvation began. He gave his life to Christ when the altar call was made. When he got home, he asked the neighbour who it was that preached, the man said, "he is just a brother not our pastor". He was surprised a brother could preach like that. The brother's name was Maduka.
He attended service the following sunday and it was the pastor that preached. The man had depth and he preached deeper than the previous brother. Later, my dad grew in the Lord and he became a pastor in that church till 1994 when he was led into another pastoral assignment. Why did I tell this story?
There is power in living an exemplary life. The transformation that occured in the life of the popular drunkard was what led him to the place where he found Christ. If that man's life had not changed, he may not have become born again but he saw someone whose life was transformed by Christ. One good example brought him to Christ.
Look at your life, the way you live, talk, dress and interact with people at work or in your neighbourhood, can your life attract sinners to Christ? Is your life pointing people to the cross or pushing them away from Christ?
There is power in exemplary living. What kind of life are you modeling for the world to see? Can we imitate you and still be sure of our place in God?