Proof of Life

Several years ago there was a movie called "Proof of Life." The movie starred Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan and was about a hostage negotiator who demanded proof of life before he would negotiate with the kidnappers. This title led me to think about our own proof of life. In Luke 3 we are presented with the ministry of John the Baptist. John's job was to prepare the way for Jesus. He was to instill in the people a desire for spiritual things, which focused on repentance and forgiveness of sins as well as the need for a Savior.
In the course of his ministry John told the people to "produce fruit in keeping with repentance." We do not normally like to talk about our actions for fear that we will be labeled a legalist. Yet we cannot deny that there should be some proof of life that we are indeed alive in Christ. The truth remains that we are not saved by our works, but our works should prove that we are saved.
John pointed out a few things that prove we have new life. In verse 11 he stresses the need to help those less fortunate. In verse 13 and 14 he emphasized the importance of not taking what does not belong to us. He also taught that we are to be content with what we have. There are other things that John taught, but these were the ones that were highlighted in this particular context. The point John was trying to stress to the people is that there should be proof that we have indeed found forgiveness for our sins.
Now here is the kicker, Jesus validated John's message. There was no reason for Jesus to be baptized. He never sinned so there was no need for him to have a baptism to demonstrate his repentance. Jesus was identifying with the ministry of John. By being baptized He was telling John and those who watched that I am in agreement with this message. He was also providing an example for us to follow. For those who are afraid of being baptized then you do not know what it really means. Baptism is an outward confession of an inward commitment. It is a way that we identify with our Lord's death, burial and resurrection to a new way of life. When we are immersed in the water it demonstrates our death to our old way of life. When we are raised out of the water it demonstrates our commitment to live a new life. Then as we walk up out of the water it is a demonstration of our commitment to walk a different path than the one we were on previously. We go in one way we come out another. After this public demonstration our life should offer proof of life.
Jesus would later tell us through His words that if we love Him we will do what He commanded. Two things Jesus clearly commanded in His teachings were to love God and love man and then He demonstrated our need to serve one another. If you ever have a doubt as to how you can love someone then remember the golden rule, do to them as you would have them do to you. If you think about that teaching it will help you do good in a lot of situations.
The question we all must consider this morning is do my actions provide Proof of Life? Sure makes me think of my own life and what my actions reveal. Why don't we work together to demonstrate to everyone that we are indeed alive in Christ? We should allow our actions to do the talking and then we will not have to be ashamed to talk about what we believe. Just something to think about. What do you think?