I've never been the type to display anything on my vehicle other than a high-gloss, mirror-shine from a freshly rinsed power-wash. I confess, regardless of the age or year of any of my vehicles, I've always been a bit OCD about my car being as nice or a little nicer looking than it deserves.
Bumper Stickers have always amazed me. They always say something a little beyond what the glossy, adhesive'd-snippet was originally designed to say. That something said, is usually about the driver/owner. One of the last things I desire to adhere, permanently! to my freshly soaked, dried and buffed Michigan-based, metal love-affair is something that I'm either not very understanding of, or completely ignorant about.
Let's face it, though, bumper stickers capture your attention. Fess up, you've gunned your engine to catch up with a moving sticker that you never quite caught the contents of. Even if it meant, nearly rear-ending the pithy, literary patch.
On Labor Day this year, my youngest daughter decided that she would like to spend part of the day at our local bookstore. Upon entering the parking area I was accosted by a less than literary piece of attention-grabbing dribble. Don't get me wrong, I believe that each of us have the right and freedom to deconstruct the beauty of our vehicles in any way we see fit. I posted the photo above so you can see it for yourself. It captures my attention today because recently there has been quite a bit of stir in the church, in general, about celebrating our American Freedom, or not. I completely understand the argument, and this blog is not here to debate that subject.
My observations are this, all too often, we are asking the wrong questions and making the wrong statements. We ask questions and make statements from our personal perspective out, not God's perspective in. The question isn't, would Jesus be a Republican or Democrat or a gun owner or a environmentalist or an American or a Swahili. The question that should be asked and the statement that should be made is, how can I be more like Christ and what would that cause me to do or not do? All other questions or statements, like the one on the bumper sticker, divide us and take sides. They cause us to position ourselves for or against others rather than lift up the highest standard of conduct, that being Jesus. The really big question to ask is, what should I do, in light of what Jesus has already done? When I ask this question the only answer is to serve others, to put other's interest before my own, to let others be first in line and to be sure that others are not going hungry while I'm enjoying plenty. Jesus said it this way, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his for his friends."
So the right question for today is this, how are you laying down your life?, and for who? Will you join a group of people that you identify with, or will you identify with the One who gave His life for you and asks you to do the same for others?
May you experience the joy of pouring yourself out for others! Oh and hey!, if you must attach a sticky, gooey, car-wrecking glob of culture-fodder to your Lexus, please, at least stick it on straight!!!
Serving Christ ~ Loving People,
Pastor Rob
