I loved show and tell day in grade school.  Bringing the project or collection from home, the pet, the random souvenir that I got on vacation.  Show and tell day was this opportunity to reveal something about yourself to your class.  Maybe something they didn’t know, or maybe something that they’d heard you talk about, but not ever seen.

And it was called ‘show AND tell’ right?  Even the most nervous, introverted child (this was me in grade school fo sho), would be willing to talk about themselves and what they had brought in.  No child got up and simply stood there, showed their item, and then sat back down.  That would be awkward, and if you were sitting in the class, you’d want to hear about it.  “Where did you get it?  How did you get it?  How long have you had it?  What do you love about it?”

On the other hand, no child got up and simply told.  They didn’t just stand there, and tell about this amazing collection or thing they have at home.  If they did, the class would be saying, “Well let us see it, and bring it in tomorrow!  I don’t want to just hear about it, I want to see it.”

For the follower of Jesus, we are compelled to show AND tell the Good News in our life.  The Bible encourages us to do both.

Show the Good News

Matthew 5:14-16:  ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Because Jesus has changed our life, it leads us to live a life that displays His good works to the world around us.  To be a bright, shining beacon of light everywhere we go.  Our good works alone though don’t reveal to the people around us the Good News, so we must use our words and…

Tell the Good News

Romans 10:9-15:  ⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” ¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Depending on our personality, spiritual gifts, and backgrounds, we are typically bent toward either showing or telling.  But just like in grade school, we must do both.  We do both, because Jesus did both, and His life was a perfect picture of show and tell.  Imagine that?  Jesus being the perfect example for us.  🙂

The beautiful thing is that show and tell is not limited to once a month or once a week like it was in school.  So this is not just about Sunday mornings, or Wednesday nights, but all seven days and every sphere of influence we are in (work, school, friends, neighborhood, family, community activities, etc.).  As we follow Jesus, we grow to learn that ‘show and tell’ is less about a one-time event, conversation, or presentation, but much more about a way of life.  And 1 Corinthians 13 charges us that the show and tell ‘way of life’ is absolutely driven and motivated by love.