Meet Amanda Buccola

If you were to ask my friends a few years ago, "how do you know that Amanda is a Christian?," you might have heard some of the following: "she goes to church," "she wears Watermark t-shirts," or "her Facebook religion says 'Christian.'" But if you looked at my actions, there was very little evidence of a true relationship with Christ.

Proverbs 20:11 says, "Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright." The book of 3 John shows examples of men who were made known by their conduct. The first was the recipient of the letter, Gaius, who was commended for walking in the truth. John, the author, had no doubt that Gaius had an abiding relationship with God because of the way he loved fellow believers. That's a life lived in truth: actions that reflect professed beliefs.

Diotrophes was also made known by his conduct; but instead of revealing a genuine faith, his actions pointed to a corrupt character. Diotrophes was known for his pride. He rejected the apostles' authority, refused to offer hospitality to traveling believers, and even kicked out church members who did! He spread lies about fellow Christians and seemed to cause chaos wherever he went. This was someone who wore the church t-shirts. He must have held a position of authority to possess the power to expel church members. He was most likely proud of his "Christian" badge, but his actions told a different story, and John called it evil.

Watermark's senior pastor Todd Wagner often says, "We're saved by grace through faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone." In other words, genuine faith is always accompanied by a life lived in truth. We are all made known by our actions, no matter what our affiliations, t-shirts, or social media bios say.

I pray that the longer I walk with God, the more I'm recognized as His follower because of my actions. What would your friends say is the evidence of your faith?