Yes, Jesus does love you.
There is, however, a problem with putting this on a bumper. I want everyone to know that Jesus loves
them. It is one of my deepest
passions. It is why I have worked to
change from a selfish angry man into one who is loving and kind.
On more than one occasion I have seen this bumper sticker on
the car of one who is driving badly. If
one is going to drive badly then one should not put Jesus, a fish, or a cross
on his or her car. It is just a bad
idea.
We are supposed to live the Gospel in a way that makes the
beauty and love of Christ evident to others.
Bad driving almost always has the opposite impact. I would even like to consider a “bonus bumper
sticker today.” It is the one that reads
“honk if you love Jesus.” I have been
flipped off twice for following the instructions of this one.
It could be that the person driving those cars wants to
identify and insult people who love Jesus.
It is more likely that in both cases he forgot about his bumper sticker
and the cost of following Christ. I also
suppose that one of them, a very young man, could have been driving a car that
belonged to a parent. I can imagine the
frustration of driving a car with “honk if you love Jesus” on it and not loving
Jesus oneself.
I think that these two examples get at the heart of the
problem for Christ followers. I had best
not identify with Christ if I am going fail to live up to that image. Please do not get me wrong. I am going to fail sometimes. I sin.
It is not that we must be perfect to identify with Christ but we had
best be aware of how we do so in order to not make things worse.
I must assure that when I speak or share the name of Jesus
that I am contributing to a proper understanding of who he is. I am pretty sure my driving is good but in
those moments where it is not it might be best if my bumper remains bare.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer
who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home
owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure
store."
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my friend said the reason she doesn't put a fish on her car is not only because she'll make a driving mistake sometimes, but because she sometimes thinks such unChristlike thoughts that she know it'd be wrong for her to rock the fish. It made me think for sure(and this conversation was almost 10 years ago).
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