Do you have anything to declare?

“To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” -Romans 3:26

Upon entering the United States, you will likely hear a customs officer ask you, “Do you have anything to declare?”  The question is presented because the agent wants to know what you are bringing back into the States.  They want to be made aware of what you potentially could be presenting to this country.  Which makes you think, “do I have anything to declare?” 

Every day, most of us go through a similar routine.  We wake up, get dress, probably drink some coffee, eat breakfast, and leave our homes to go out and do whatever we do.  For some, it is work.  For others it is school.  There may be those who don’t leave the house and work from home.  Those whose work is in the home.  No matter what you do, or where you go; every day when you get up you take that first faithful step to meet the world.  From that moment forward, the day is beckoning to you: “Do you have anything to declare?”  As we live our lives, we are making a declaration.  It may be in the workplace, in school, in your home, or all the above.  Your life is a declaration to this world and a reflection of what you believe.  The Christians were first called Christians at Antioch.  In Antioch they first where verbally recognized as being “Christ-like”.  The way they lived, and the gospel they preached was a declaration of Christ.  They were declaring a Jesus Christ that was a declaration of righteousness.  He lived and died the first sinless, spotless, righteous man; living a righteous life.  He was the manifestation of the law of righteousness to the world.  God incarnate, presenting holiness to mankind.  Then he gave himself up a sacrifice so that we might have the opportunity to be the same declaration of righteousness.  When you become sanctified, your sanctified life is a declaration of righteousness.  A Christian life is a life of righteousness.  What we do is our declaration to the world, and what we believe effects what we do.  If you are living in sin and doing sinful things; your declaration is not righteousness.  I marvel sometimes at the amount of preaching that is directed to the betterment of the person, but totally ignores the condition of sin.  When sin is the very thing that Jesus died to eradicate.  He wanted us to be a declaration of His righteousness.  He became the justifier so that we could be justified.  So that we could be transformed into a living declaration of His righteousness.  Having our conversation honest before all men, living in perfect love toward God and our fellow man.  Showing righteousness every day to the lost and dying world through the power of the Holy Ghost dwelling within. 

Every day you when you wake up and leave you place of rest, ask yourself: do you have anything to declare?  My prayer is that the answer is: “Yes, the righteousness of Christ.”