Visible Faith
Dan Kunz
Did you hear the one about the traveling salesman? If you’re of a certain vintage, you’ve probably heard more than one traveling salesman joke over the years. If you asked a kid that question today, they’d probably ask, “What’s a traveling salesman?” To be sure, traveling salesmen (or salespersons) are still around, but they are most likely visiting businesses and companies, not going “door-to-door”. About the only people going door-to-door today are LDS missionaries or Jehovah’s Witnesses. Not even Girl Scouts do that much anymore! They sell their cookies at tables near the grocery store entrance now. Years ago, traveling salesmen went door-to-door, selling everything from encyclopedias to insurance to cleaning products. Sometimes they were appreciated, sometimes they were shunned.
My uncle Henry was a traveling salesman for several years when he first got out of the Army. He sold a lot of different things, but perhaps the most interesting was Bibles. How would you like that job on a commission basis? Throughout much of the 1900’s, it was common for people to have a Bible in plain sight in their living room or wherever they entertained guests. (Some people still have “coffee table books” in their home today.) I’m sure the Bibles were on display for a variety of reasons. On the negative side, it could simply be for “show”, to impress others with one’s religiosity or wealth (if the Bible was an ornate, expensive one). On the positive side, people were certainly making a statement that they were Christians. Maybe a guest or visitor would pick it up and encounter God’s Word. It could prompt a discussion about spiritual matters. Again, if it was a beautiful, hand tooled, leather-bound Bible, with gorgeous illustrations, like the ones my uncle sold door-to-door, people might be showing the value of their relationship with God and his Word.
If you have a Bible which is visible to guests and visitors in your home today, hopefully it’s one that’s well worn and falling apart from years and years of use. Handcrafted, ornate Bibles are beautiful, but they are mostly for display. Are there other ways that you display your faith as a Christian? Body ink and jewelry are a couple of ways. Bible passages and artwork in your home are others. Our faith should also be visible in our words and actions. Again, that can be positive or negative. Kindness and self-sacrifice are certainly noticeable to others. So is road rage while driving a vehicle with an “I (heart) Jesus” bumper sticker! If your faith is visible for the right reasons, that’s a good thing. If it’s for the wrong reasons, not so much. Read Luke 18:9-14 about two men’s prayers, for example. They were both visible to others, but their hearts were very different.
So, are you ready to go out and sell Bibles door-to-door, like my Uncle Henry? Probably not. TV personality Mike Rowe shows us America’s “Dirtiest Jobs”. How about America’s “Toughest Jobs”? I’d say selling Bibles door-to-door would rank up near the top in our society today. Maybe we should just try selling Jesus - to our friends, our relatives, our neighbors, the man next to us on the plane, or the lady waiting for an oil change. Good salespeople don’t just show their product, they also explain it and point out its advantages. Making our faith visible to others is good, but we also need to talk about it. We excitedly share our favorite recipe or our newest technology or latest discovery with others. How about doing the same with our Savior? 2 Corinthians 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you, on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.