This Has Been Plastered

Benjamin Franklin learned with his experiments that plaster helps make things grow better. He told his neighbors, but they did not believe him. They argued with him, saying that something inorganic like plaster would be of no use to grass or grain.He allowed the argument to drop and stopped discussing it. But he went into the field early the next spring and planted some wheat. Close by the path where people would walk, he traced words with his hand and put plaster into them, then sowed his seed in the rest of the field.After a couple of weeks the seed sprang up. His neighbors, as they passed along that path, were surprised to read in brighter green than the rest of the field, the writing in large letters, “THIS HAS BEEN PLASTERED.” Ben Franklin didn’t need to argue with his neighbors about the benefit of plaster in fields, the bright green words that rose above all the rest did the convincing.To this day, the principle ingredients in plaster, gypsum, and lime, are used as effective fertilizers.It is not enough to talk about Jesus and what He has done for us if people do not see the affects in the way we live and the attitudes we portray, that He really has made a positive difference. Arguing doesn’t get us very far, either. People will naturally be skeptical of what we tell them. They will need to see that our Christianity is really what we say it is. Jesus said, “By their fruit you will know them” (Matthew 7:20).But at the same time, just living a good and joyful life will tell them nothing. They need us to verbalize what it is that has made the difference, and they also need us to tell them how Christ can make the same difference in their lives.Are you a faithful witness by the way you live and by the things you say? Both are necessary.