“Now it came to pass….”  (Est. 1:1)

I´m just finishing Esther – the book without any mentioning of God and yet so full of Him!   Encouraging, isn´t it?  Before I make my point, here´s what a scholar said:  “A book does not have to be full of references to God to have religious significance.”  And so it is with our Christian life too.

As a younger salesman, - but not that young though! – I was once trying to sell a collection of carpets to the Norwegian owner of a chain of shops in Oslo.  I´d met him before, but this time he suddenly asked me, “What is your denomination?”  I told him how surprised I was as I had never said a word about Christian things to him.  He smiled, “I´m pretty good at knowing the people I deal with.”  So we had an interesting little talk.  I´m afraid he was a backslider himself.

I don´t recall if I sold anything to him, I think I did, but more than anything I started my journey back to Denmark that Friday afternoon with a heartfelt thanksgiving to the Lord that my imperfect life, even in business,  reflected Jesus Christ.

At another time on the west coast of Norway, the owner of a retail shop, suddenly asked me, “Tell me, are you a personal Christian?”  (The term “personal Christian” in Norway usually means “a real or born-again Christian”).  We had never touched that subject.  But he said, “I could tell you are.  My wife is a personal Christian too…”  I understood he was not, but he was attracted to my wordless testimony.  Again I rejoiced being reminded of Billy Graham´s words, “You witness by your presence and by your words.”

The book of Esther is full of the unseen presence and providence of God.  Your walk with Christ will be that way too – one way or the other provided you´re in fellowship with Him.

Let me confess my defeat too.  As a young travelling man I was once having a good time with other business men one night at a hotel.  I thought, “I´d better tell them I´m a Christian.”  One gentleman said to me, “Don´t kid me, - you are not!”  A worldly spirit had got hold of me in such a way that my “testimony” sounded shallow.  That night, before I went to bed, I had something to be before the Lord about!

The Christian president of a corporation said to me, “We´ve had Christian employees always prattling on Christianity, but really they are often our worst kind of employees!”  I understood.   And yet a quiet walk with the Lord with a good conscience will invariably lead to a word of testimony too.  Not by way of a modern, smart “soul winner technique”, but as an outflow of His Spirit “seizing the opportunity” (Col. 4:5, Amplified Bible).

August 18, 2011 - jn