Live Out Loud

by Pastor Timothy Fortune

One of my favorite songs is Live Out Loud by Steven Curtis Chapman. The song is such an inspiration to me to live my life as loud as I can for Christ. Live out loud is not talk out loud just words, but that with every action in my body I want it to be such that it is done to the Glory of God.

One of the greatest illustrations of a person that lived his life loud was the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:30-37) As this Samaritan was traveling down the road he came upon a man who had been overtaken by thieves. The thieves robbed him, stripped him of his clothes, beat him leaving him half dead. Now being left half dead does sound pretty serious. He didn’t just take a few slaps to the face, or maybe only a hit in the stomach, but was wounded and half dead. So the Samaritan stops and begins to help the victim and bandaged his wounds. This process probably took some time as the man was in serious condition. Then he proceeded to put the injured man on his on animal (animals were the SUV’s of that day, they didn’t have Fords, GMC, and Chevy’s) and took him to a hotel. Now here is where a lot of us would have called someone else and turned the gentleman over and went about our way. But the Samaritan didn’t. He personally took care of the man that night, then on the next day gave the Innkeeper money and told him to look after the injured man and if he spends any more money that he would repay him. What an example of living out loud.

You see, before the Samaritan came along to find the injured man, a priest passed by and also a Levite. Now these two individuals could have probably quoted scripture and knew all of the church traditions, but what good was it if they could not help someone in need? Living out the example that was giving to us by Jesus is what we should be about. St Francis of Assisi said, “There is no use walking anywhere to preach the gospel unless our walking is our preaching.” What a statement for the 21st century church.

Are you not tired of just hearing about people of other place and times doing incredible things for the Gospel of Jesus Christ? I am and I want my life this year to be lived out loud for His glory. As Christians let’s make a renewed commitment to really put into practice the teachings of Jesus in our life this year and see what happens.