In this season of advent, we are probably scurrying around with lists and gift ideas filling our heads. There are malls to be conquered and food to be bought. There is an anticipation that Christmas will soon be here. But in this season of Advent, it should be the anticipation of the birth of Christ that we look forward to. But I am sure, every year our Pastor reminds us of that very thing.
I thought about the old television commercial from Tootsie Roll Pop that featured an owl and a little boy. The little boy asked the wise owl "how many licks will it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?". The owl pondered and then grabbed the pop from the boy and said, "One-ah, Two-ah, Three." "Three" he claimed again as if he was on "The Weakest Link" and it was his "final answer". So the question is posed again, "How many licks will it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?". "The world may never know!", the commentator answers.
Our lives are like the pop with many layers. It takes a while for us to get past the surface of who we are and to come into state of comfortable identity. With each layer or year that we live, we tend to search for our purpose in life, whether it is to be a parent, have a career, learn a trade, go to college or go do mission work for example.
I encourage you in this season and always to let the light of Christ shine in you and through you so the "World may Truly Know".
Monday, December 18, 2006
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Bumper Stickers
In the hustle of rush hour one morning, I found myself approaching road rage once again. I was cured about three years ago, but occasionally it flares up. As I was getting over in the left lane, a car speeds up so I could not change lanes. I was still frustrated at this point, but there was a message that awaited me. The bumper sticker said, "JESUS LOVES YOU". Then there were two more stickers. One said "IN GOD WE TRUST" and the other was a fish symbol. Then the car sped off and changed lanes again. The driver rolled down her window and threw up her middle finger. It had been a minute since I had seen someone flip "the finger".
My mind wondered what kind of day was she having really? Was she late for work or was she frustrated with the amount of traffic this day? Was it something that her husband or children did that brought her anger or anxiety that morning? We all have good intentions to arise and get ready for work and fix breakfast and everything else. We may even have intentions on a prayer and the busy-ness of our lives enter in. We lose all sense of the plan to replenish what had been burned off through our body composition. When we don't feed ourselves with the proper diet, we are malnourishing our relationship with God. No, God doesn't need our food, but by reading scripture, praying and studying the Word, our relationship grows. Our connectedness with the Lord is more powerful than the day before. So maybe she needs her recommended daily allowance of B-I-B-L-E.
Did her bumper sticker match her actions behind the wheel? She just flipped someone off. My CSI mind was trying to recreate the scene of the crime. She adorned messages of Jesus' love and God's trust on her bumper sticker, but that Christian woman had just about lost it. Lost the message of Christ's love for us and she had lost God's trust and mine. And whoever else that had made the connection. But what was she hiding as she drove away? Was it a dent or scar underneath the bumper sticker? We as human beings are excellent at hiding the visible or accessorizing our pain with a smile, makeup or hair. In her attempt to express her Christian beliefs through witnessing, she did more damage than good. How could she be a witness to save souls if her actions make people stay clear of her? The mask we wear... Just ensure your walk as a Christian equals your talk as a Christian.
And did she really mean all those things she said? When she extended her finger outside of the car, was she checking the weather? Could she have really been who she wanted everyone to think that she was? I vaguely remember what she looks like now but I do know one thing.
I will never forget the lady that misrepresented being a Christian by false witness, hiding her true identity and pointing out negative thoughts in the minds of those around us. That is all for now...what does your bumper sticker say about you?
My mind wondered what kind of day was she having really? Was she late for work or was she frustrated with the amount of traffic this day? Was it something that her husband or children did that brought her anger or anxiety that morning? We all have good intentions to arise and get ready for work and fix breakfast and everything else. We may even have intentions on a prayer and the busy-ness of our lives enter in. We lose all sense of the plan to replenish what had been burned off through our body composition. When we don't feed ourselves with the proper diet, we are malnourishing our relationship with God. No, God doesn't need our food, but by reading scripture, praying and studying the Word, our relationship grows. Our connectedness with the Lord is more powerful than the day before. So maybe she needs her recommended daily allowance of B-I-B-L-E.
Did her bumper sticker match her actions behind the wheel? She just flipped someone off. My CSI mind was trying to recreate the scene of the crime. She adorned messages of Jesus' love and God's trust on her bumper sticker, but that Christian woman had just about lost it. Lost the message of Christ's love for us and she had lost God's trust and mine. And whoever else that had made the connection. But what was she hiding as she drove away? Was it a dent or scar underneath the bumper sticker? We as human beings are excellent at hiding the visible or accessorizing our pain with a smile, makeup or hair. In her attempt to express her Christian beliefs through witnessing, she did more damage than good. How could she be a witness to save souls if her actions make people stay clear of her? The mask we wear... Just ensure your walk as a Christian equals your talk as a Christian.
And did she really mean all those things she said? When she extended her finger outside of the car, was she checking the weather? Could she have really been who she wanted everyone to think that she was? I vaguely remember what she looks like now but I do know one thing.
I will never forget the lady that misrepresented being a Christian by false witness, hiding her true identity and pointing out negative thoughts in the minds of those around us. That is all for now...what does your bumper sticker say about you?
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