In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may
see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
- Matthew 5:16 (NIV)
When smartphones first came out, my kids would ask me about
games, and I was very clear: “I don't play games on my phone.”
Apparently, I meant "yet". I currently have somewhere around 51 games downloaded on my phone. In my defense, some of them are games my granddaughter plays. Some are relaxing games that help me wind down. Others are puzzles and word games that I tell myself are keeping my aging brain active. But almost every one of them has something in common:
Ads.
And then there's social media.
The ads there seem to know exactly what might catch my attention. I've successfully broken my Temu addiction. I'm trying very hard not to buy more clothes. But somehow “Pete's Pasta” convinced me that I needed to try their no-carb pasta. Then there are ads promising to tell me my feminine archetype. At 57, I'm pretty confident I can dress myself—but I admit I did ask my good friend ChatGPT about it. There are products I've never heard of, exercise programs I'm suddenly convinced I should try, watch bands, underwear, health products and things I didn't know existed five minutes ago that I am now wondering if I need.
That's what good advertising does, it gets our attention. It makes us curious, it shows us something and makes us think :maybe I want that.
And somewhere in all those advertisements, I started wondering, what if we advertised God?
Not with flashy commercials or catchy slogans. And certainly not by trying to “sell” Jesus as though following Him is another product promising to make our lives easier.
What if we were the advertisement?
Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 to let our light shine so that people see what we do and ultimately glorify our Father. In other words, people should be able to see evidence of God in the way we live.
What would that advertisement look like?
Maybe it's peace in a situation where everyone expects panic. Maybe it's kindness toward someone who can't do anything for us in return. Or maybe it's forgiveness when holding a grudge would be easier, or generosity without needing recognition. Maybe it's sitting beside someone who's hurting when we don't have the words to fix anything or maybe it's admitting when we're wrong. Perhaps maybe it's joy that doesn't disappear simply because life gets difficult. And maybe someone watching begins to wonder what do they have that I don't?
That's when our lives have an opportunity to point toward Jesus. But here's where truth in advertising matters. Following Christ doesn't mean everything suddenly becomes easy. Christ followers still get sick. We still lose people we love. We still struggle. We still make mistakes. We still have days when our faith feels strong and days when we have questions.
We're not advertising a perfect life, we're showing people a faithful God in the middle of an imperfect one. And unlike the ads that promise something miraculous if we'll just click BUY NOW, Jesus isn't asking us to make exaggerated claims on His behalf. He's asking us to live differently because we know Him.
To love, to serve, to forgive, to give, to shine. And when someone notices the difference, we can tell them where the Light comes from.
So maybe the question isn't: “Would people buy in if we advertised God?”
Maybe it's: “When people look at my life, what am I advertising?”
I hope they see enough of Jesus in me to want to know Him for themselves.
No pop-up ad required.
#dailybreadbykitty
Daily Inspiration from the Bible
- Matthew 5:16 (NIV)
Apparently, I meant "yet". I currently have somewhere around 51 games downloaded on my phone. In my defense, some of them are games my granddaughter plays. Some are relaxing games that help me wind down. Others are puzzles and word games that I tell myself are keeping my aging brain active. But almost every one of them has something in common:
Ads.
And then there's social media.
The ads there seem to know exactly what might catch my attention. I've successfully broken my Temu addiction. I'm trying very hard not to buy more clothes. But somehow “Pete's Pasta” convinced me that I needed to try their no-carb pasta. Then there are ads promising to tell me my feminine archetype. At 57, I'm pretty confident I can dress myself—but I admit I did ask my good friend ChatGPT about it. There are products I've never heard of, exercise programs I'm suddenly convinced I should try, watch bands, underwear, health products and things I didn't know existed five minutes ago that I am now wondering if I need.
That's what good advertising does, it gets our attention. It makes us curious, it shows us something and makes us think :maybe I want that.
And somewhere in all those advertisements, I started wondering, what if we advertised God?
Not with flashy commercials or catchy slogans. And certainly not by trying to “sell” Jesus as though following Him is another product promising to make our lives easier.
What if we were the advertisement?
Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 to let our light shine so that people see what we do and ultimately glorify our Father. In other words, people should be able to see evidence of God in the way we live.
What would that advertisement look like?
Maybe it's peace in a situation where everyone expects panic. Maybe it's kindness toward someone who can't do anything for us in return. Or maybe it's forgiveness when holding a grudge would be easier, or generosity without needing recognition. Maybe it's sitting beside someone who's hurting when we don't have the words to fix anything or maybe it's admitting when we're wrong. Perhaps maybe it's joy that doesn't disappear simply because life gets difficult. And maybe someone watching begins to wonder what do they have that I don't?
That's when our lives have an opportunity to point toward Jesus. But here's where truth in advertising matters. Following Christ doesn't mean everything suddenly becomes easy. Christ followers still get sick. We still lose people we love. We still struggle. We still make mistakes. We still have days when our faith feels strong and days when we have questions.
We're not advertising a perfect life, we're showing people a faithful God in the middle of an imperfect one. And unlike the ads that promise something miraculous if we'll just click BUY NOW, Jesus isn't asking us to make exaggerated claims on His behalf. He's asking us to live differently because we know Him.
To love, to serve, to forgive, to give, to shine. And when someone notices the difference, we can tell them where the Light comes from.
So maybe the question isn't: “Would people buy in if we advertised God?”
Maybe it's: “When people look at my life, what am I advertising?”
I hope they see enough of Jesus in me to want to know Him for themselves.
No pop-up ad required.
Daily Inspiration from the Bible
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