"Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity." 1 Timothy 4:12 (The Message)
I studied Mass Communications and English Literature for my undergraduate degree. It took at least 18 professors, 20 or more term papers and over 200 readings (including books, articles and white papers) to teach me what Paul elegantly instructs Timothy in 15 words: The medium is the message.
My professors were teaching incarnation.
They wouldn't have used that word anymore than the great novelists, poets and communicators I studied would have, but incarnation it was -- wrapped up in poems, essays, communication and organization theories and literature. The medium is the message: how you communicate is as important as what you communicate.
Paul's instruction to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12 is also about Incarnation:
Word The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood. (John 1:14)
Demeanor "I pray for them . . . for those you gave me, For they are yours by right . . . and my life is on display in them." (John 17: 6-10)
Love "Love one another the way I have loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends . . . " (John 15:12,13)
Faith "You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone for my Father is with me." (John 16:32)
Integrity "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42)
Jesus was the Message. You are the message. What is your life teaching?
"All of us are called to sacramental living." From Streams of Living Water by Richard J. Foster
