Bumper Stickers
Hey, everyone!
What an awesome day!! Sun's comin' up! Birds are singing! If thou wouldst use thy imagination, it seems that all the flowers are waving in praise! The waves are crashing! The pelicans are gliding! The dolphins are…
"Huh?!"
Oh. I forgot to tell y'all. We drove down here to the beach of North Carolina to spend the dat with Emi, Graham, and the boys! Soooooooooo fun!!! Back home tomorrow, but today's gonna be a beach blast!
Y'know, as I was packing up the car to drive down here, I looked at all the ridiculous number of stickers I've plastered all across the back of the trunk of the car. I've never done this before. I've read that sometimes when folks start to get tattoos, it can become a little addictive and they can't stop until they run out of space and skin to put them on. I feel this is the path I've taken with bumper stickers.
I have a sticker for most of the Young Life camps I've been to, one in Italian ("Gesu' ritornera'…ed io sono con Lui!"), one for the 82nd Airborne, one for the Braves, one that says how far I ran in a race (have ya'll seen the one that says "0.0"?), one for…I can't even remember 'em all!
Oh. I forgot. I also have the fish.
You know the little fish that says you love Jesus?
Ever wonder what fish have to do with Him? (…besides the fact that He makes them all and a couple times multiplied them?) Well…
Back in the early days when the first followers of Jesus really risked their lives to be His, if one person thought someone might be a believer, but were afraid to ask, they'd trace one line of the symbol in the sand while talking. If the other knew our Lord, he or she'd understand the gesture and trace the other curved line to make the fish! And you would have met a new brother or sister in Jesus!
"But a fish?! Why not a cross or something like that?"
Well, in the language they spoke, if you take the first letter of each word in the phrase, "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior"…
Iesous ("Jesus")
Xristos ("Christ")
Theou ("of God")
Uios ("Son")
Soter ("Savior")
…you get, "i…x…th…u…s"
And "ixthus" is the Greek word for "fish"!
It's a subtle way to say, "I love Jesus!"
Speaking of…
Our Atlanta Braves have been losing loads of games in a row. But the other night, they won one! With a brand new pitcher on his first game! When they interviewed him at the end, he said, "I'm just thankful to be a part of this!"
"…thankful…"?
I wondered…hmmmm….
So I googled his name and the word "faith".
Instantly I got an article from a ministry called "Athletes In Action" about how this person has come to know and love Jesus a few years ago!
I knew it!
Thankfulness! It seemed an unusual thing to say! But that's how I knew he loved the Lord! With all we have and all He's given, when you stop and think about it, thankfulness just bursts out! It leaps from the heart like a "fish" leaps from the sea! And lands on your bumper!
Check this…
“If you’re so low that you only have one prayer, let it be a prayer of thanks. It is the easiest way to pray and often the most powerful…In some circumstances, thanksgiving, like forgiveness, is both the quickest and the only route to joy…Imagine yourself in a meadow gathering wildflowers-violets, let’s say. When you’re finished, do you have a fistful of stones or twigs? No, you have a bouquet of violets. If you’re looking for reasons to be grateful, you’ll find them! …Give God a standing ovation every day. It’s what He’s waiting for. It’s what you’re waiting for too…Years ago, realizing I needed to develop gratitude, I began the practice of saying thanks to God for five things before I went to bed. I still do this whenever I feel the least bit low. Looking for reasons to be thankful, instead of focusing on worries or fears, is like putting on a new pair of glasses. Life looks better through the lens of thanks.”
Thankfulness. It brightens everything! It makes your heart full yet light! It's how others know you've found Someone to help you! And they could know Him too!
I wonder if I can find a bumper sticker that says, "Thankful"?