The Day I Saw Real Joy

Does Your Christianity Make You Look Different to an Unbeliever?

If someone watched your life for a week, would they know you're a Christian—without you saying a word?

Back in 1989, I was a 21-year-old lost young woman living in Tokyo, Japan, a model, TV actress, and singer in a rock band. I was living a very ungodly life and I was desperate for change—desperate to find something that would lift me out of the cycle of sin I was in, and the darkness that surrounded me. A life of excessive drinking, and nightly partying with other models and actors,—a typical celebrity lifestyle.

I came to the point where that kind of lifestyle left me miserable and empty. So, I reached out to every religious institution I could find—Catholicism, Buddhism, New Age, the Occult, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, to name a few. Each promised me something but after I would try it for a while, I would fall right back to the depths of sin.

Little did I realize that this longing in me was being orchestrated by the very God I was searching for. He was already working in me, drawing me to Himself. And in His perfect timing, that is exactly what He would do—for His glory.

Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

I had no understanding of who God truly was. Jesus had been someone I had heard of, but I didn’t understand the gospel. I didn’t know why He came, what His cross accomplished, or why I would need His help.

Eventually, through God’s divine providence, I was led to attend a church near my home in Okinawa on a beautiful Sunday morning. I knew nothing about church life. I was nervous and felt out of place. Yet I was being drawn by a sovereign God, because He was saving this wretched sinner.

I remember that day so clearly. I entered through the glass doors, and every person I looked at seemed to be smiling. There was an evident joy flowing from all of their faces. I even whispered to myself, “I wonder if they all use the same toothpaste, because their teeth are so white!”

To my lost soul, these people looked so different. That’s what caught my attention first—and I was intrigued. “What is it they have? What is making them so happy?”

I’m so grateful that my time there didn’t end with just seeing shiny smiles. Someone actually took the time to talk to me. Then he and his wife invited me to their home, and she was the very one who shared the glorious Gospel with me and led me to the Lord the very next week.

She opened her Bible and showed me that Jesus, the Son of God, came to live the perfect life I could never live, died the death I deserved, and rose again to give new life to anyone who believes in Him. I realized then that my sin separated me from God—but Christ had accomplished my salvation for me.

I walked into that church and saw something different. But what if no one had smiled? What if no one had spoken to me? What if no one had looked like Christ?
That experience still challenges me today—and it should challenge every believer.

Because of that experience, I’ve come to realize how important it is that we, as a church—as professing believers—must carefully examine our walk. Do I look different to an unbeliever?

There’s a widely circulated quote that says, “If you were charged for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

The Scriptures instruct us to walk in the light as we are children of light (Ephesians 5:8–10). So we must ask ourselves how are we perceived by a lost people. What is being revealed about us to someone who doesn’t know the Lord? Can they see the evidence that I know Christ as I had witnessed in those church people on that glorious day?

As a young mother, days can be exhausting. Sleep deprivation can steal our joy and make us cranky. But if an unbeliever were to observe us, would they be drawn to a joyless, cranky Christian?

For the overworked man, worn out from the daily grind—would a nonbeliever see a grateful Christian, thankful that God has provided work to live and provide for his family?

To the retired person or empty nester, missing the younger days and the sounds of a full household—would an unbeliever see joy? Joy that God has given so many years to live for Him, and the blessing of having raised a family for His glory?

Are you prone to grumble and complain? To let everyone know you’re exhausted, unhappy, or discontent?
What’s your countenance showing to an unbelieving world? (Philippians 2:14)

I’m not saying we won’t have seasons of true discouragement, exhaustion, or trials. But we are called to set an example. We must fight the temptation to let our emotions dictate our Christian witness.

We need to remember that our hope, our joy, our contentment come from an eternal perspective—knowing that our citizenship is in heaven, that this world is not our home. Life is a vapor. We only have one life to live—and how we live it for Christ is what truly matters.

We are called to walk as children of light in a dark world that desperately needs to see the Light—the glory of Jesus Christ!

Take a moment and think: what would someone see if they walked into your life? Would they see Christ in how you work, how you love, how you speak, how you suffer?
We don’t shine because we’re perfect—we shine because Christ lives in us. And that changes everything.

Numbers 6:24–26
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.