Glorifies The Lord In The Midst Of Unbelievers

Glorifies The Lord In The Midst Of Unbelievers

A HERO’S TALE

Esther might have been a queen, but life was certainly not easy for her.

Although she was Jewish, Esther lived far away from Israel. The Assyrians and Babylonians had conquered her people many years earlier. Her parents had died while she was still young (see Esther 2:7), so Mordecai, her older cousin, had raised her.

Esther lived in Susa, the capital of the Persian Empire, which was hundreds of miles from her ancestral home in Israel. The people of Persia didn’t believe in the one true God. Some Persians followed a false religion called Zoroastrianism, which taught about a supreme god but didn’t have much else in common with the truth of the Bible. Others in the empire were polytheistic, meaning they worshiped many false gods.

It would have been easy for Esther to go with the flow in Susa. Acting like everyone else would’ve been the safest thing to do. To be different meant potentially being ridiculed, excluded, or even killed.

But Esther chose to glorify God by standing up for what was right and saving God’s people from being destroyed.

Go, Esther!

DECODING THE MESSAGE

It’s easy to follow God when you’re around Christians, isn’t it? But what about when no other believers are around?

Just like Esther, you probably know plenty of people who don’t believe in the Bible or follow God. Perhaps they’re kids at school or in your neighborhood or maybe even family members.

They might use bad language or think it’s okay to lie or constantly disobey or disrespect their parents. Maybe they steal, cheat, or think going to church is a waste of time.

It’s not easy to act differently around them, is it? But being different from the world is what being a godly hero is all about. God wants us to glorify him, no matter who’s around. And that means obeying him around unbelievers as well as Christians.

The Bible calls this “shining your light” (see today’s verse). The world is a dark place because of sin. By being different and glorifying God around unbelievers, you can shine the light (and love) of God into sin’s darkness.

So turn on that God-powered light and shine, baby, shine!

BATTLE PLAN

Memorize today’s verse. It’s a great reminder for when you’re surrounded by unbelievers like Esther was in Susa.