Some comedians are great at mimicking people...

1 John 1:1-10

Reference:  v.6  If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. (NIV Bible)

Explore:   I recently went to a comedy gig and saw the UK comedian Tim Vine.  He is known for his one liners and constant play-on-words.  One part of his show he did a skit where he says in a really high pitched squeaky voice:
'Hi, I'm Bruce Willis.  I act in lots of action movies...'  Tim's voice was so high pitched it didn't sound anything like Bruce Willis at all.  But he continued on in his funny voice saying, 'I'm a famous Hollywood actor and I star in great action movies like Die Hard and Armageddon.  In the movie the Sixth Sense I play a ghost for the whole film.'  Tim finally stops with his silly voice and says, 'Oh sorry, I've given you the wrong impression!'
Now, when Tim started saying that he was Bruce Willis I was a little confused because he wasn't even trying to sound like Bruce.  Some comedians are great at mimicking people and it wasn't until the end of the joke that I realised that Tim wasn't even trying to be Bruce, it was all just so he could use the play-on-words with the 'wrong impression'.

Application:  I think that sometimes there are Christians who may also be giving the wrong impression.  These are people who say they are followers of God and they may even turn up to church regularly but really when you examine the rest of their lives they don't act like a Christian at all.  When John was talking to the early Christians he explained that Jesus was the light of the world.  If we say that we follow Him and yet live in darkness then we are totally giving the wrong impression.  If we truly want to be followers of Christ then we need to be acting like Jesus and not just turning on our faith when it suits us best.

Prayer:  Lord, sometimes we may give people the wrong impression.  We say that we believe in You but we don't always act as you would have us act.  Help us to give up our own desires and commit completely to You.  Amen.

What kind of impression are you giving of your faith in Christ?