Then he (King Asa) assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 2 Chronicles 15:9
Following the division of the kingdom, Israel had a procession of ungodly kings. Judah, though, did have some good kings. Asa was one of them. “He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple” (verse 8). As a result, many from the neighbouring tribes joined them.
A godly life is attractive to people who are prepared to acknowledge God. Paul writes, “you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life” (Philippians 2:15-16). Why wouldn’t someone be drawn to a life of peace and joy? Logically people should be wanting to become Christians.
Do people look at our lives and understand, “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit?” (Romans 14:17). Or do they look at our lives and think that the kingdom of God is about adhering to rules, maintaining rituals and keeping rites? How accurately do we portray God’s kingdom?
Jesus tells us we are to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16). We don’t work to become salt and light, rather we hold firmly to God’s Word and are transformed by it. We are true witnesses when we allow God’s light to shine through us, not when we try to generate the light ourselves.
