Are the Bumper Stickers True?
Living in a metropolitan area, traffic is a major issue. Sometimes you feel like you are in the middle of a jungle of cars. On my daily commute, I always enjoy reading bumper stickers on the cars around me. There are plenty of them and they make the journey seem shorter. It never ceases to amaze me how many have a Christian message on it:
- "Jesus Christ — Don't leave earth without Him"
- "The Big Bang Theory: God spoke, and BANG, it happened"
- "Jesus Loves You"
- "God Is Love;"
... and the list goes on.
Seeing so many cars with these great messages I ask myself, "If there are so many of us who believe, why doesn't our society look differently? Has the salvation experience in my life impacted the way I live in such a way it is noticeable to those around me? Can they see a difference in me? Are my actions creating a hunger in them for more out of life? Or are the bumper sticker words being drowned by a lifestyle that in no way shows God in control?"
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:13-14 NIV).
It seems to me if each one of us driving along with a worthwhile message lived a worthwhile life, people would notice. Our society should be impregnated with a liberating message of true and real LIFE. Maybe my passion is not where it needs to be. Maybe Jesus is not the center of my life as I claim. Maybe my selfish desires are controlling my actions and God is just a spice instead of the main ingredient. If so, I have some major rearranging to do in me. I need to let Jesus sit on the throne; I need to make Him my pilot, not my co-pilot.
For years I have avoided putting bumper stickers on my car. I guess I just did not want to be a stumbling block to those around me if either I or whoever was driving my car didn't live up to a behavior honoring God. But maybe what I need to do is change the driver's attitude. Make myself accountable to God and those around me for my actions. Be able to say like Paul did,
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).
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Scripture is quoted from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
