Meet Brad. He stands on the banks of the Mississippi River in Gateway Park under the shadow of the iconic Gateway Arch. He stands here EVERY Sunday, between 10am to 2pm. He’s been doing that every Sunday since 2010.

He doesn’t speak unless spoken to. Once prompted, he tells onlookers that he is “standing for Yeshua or Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords.” He is not obnoxious or over-the-top with fanaticism. He holds the Christian flag. He plainly answers, with a focus and a smile, those who ask. He will not argue or debate, he says, because “the truth stands on its own.” Amen. That it does, Brad.

I admire Brad for his courage, dedication, and zeal. I can’t imagine what it’s like in frigid cold with snow on the ground and no one milling about. Yesterday, while we were visiting the Gateway Arch on our motorcycle trip, there were thousands of passers-by, some curious, some oblivious.

He stands because he feels called to do so. It is, as a mentor and pastor once said, “an outward sign of an inward condition.” That’s what Pastor Jeff Griffith calls baptism. It is a proclamation of what’s happened inside. When Christ changes you, you are compelled to show it.

I think we’re all called to show it. Brad chooses to stand. Not all are called to do what Brad does.

What is it that you’re called to do? If you’ve been changed, how do you show it.