Blocking up the scenery .... do you know the tune... it's not the best of tunes, it is fairly rebellious.. but it really fits this season. Just drive around, Everywhere ya look there are signs. I don't just mean the wonderful signs advertising the inflated gasoline prices, robbing your hard earned dollar, no, nor am I referring to the plethora of obnoxious bad fast food joints trying to poison you with their toxic genetically altered food deep fried, and served with bad manners and the wrong change.
No i mean the common garden variety signs, literally... Drive by the neighborhoods, and look at all the gardens, and lawns and you will truly be accosted! Signs for security systems JUST in case some thief has any BRIGHT ideas and can read. Or Signs advertising Roofers, or Siders, or Painters, or Asphalt layers. Then there are the Politicians. O Yes, the many fun and enthusiastic supporters various Political Leaders, has signs all over their lawn. Some are very mild, having only one demur sign on their lawn, and others, perhaps unable to pawn more signs off on unsuspecting neighbors or friends, put an enormous amount on their front lawn to really catch your fancy as you drive by.
But these are all the signs we ignore, for they are so plentiful, too frequent to obvious. Yes you have the occasional Someone turned 40, or 50, or maybe there is a gigantic hysterical stork on Mr & Mrs front lawn.... but then...
Then their are the signs that REALLY get the neighborhood chatting. These are the actually insulting signs. They are far and few between, actually, this, I confess as a mid thirty something, this is something entirely NEW to me. I am certain that is NOT new at all. For there is NOTHING new under the Sun. But such a foolish mistake by Brothers in Christ is just so grievous to me
Here it goes..... the "Authentic Jesus" signs.. They are very popular. One particular church is passing them around. People from this church put them all on their front gardens (lawns) and display this sign as a symbol of what would appear to be ... perhaps.... pride....
I don't know WHY, but perhaps because I am a bold Christian, perhaps because of certain past experiences with this church, people in my community, feel VERY comfortable coming up to me, and discussing with me how they are personally very INSULTED by this sign.
Do the people with the sign think they have the "only authentic Jesus"?
Are they saying my Jesus "is a false" Jesus?
Is there Jesus the ONLY Jesus In Town....?
Is that Church saying that Jesus only LOVES their members?
Is the only way to have an "authentic relationship" with the "authentic JESUS" to go to their church?
Why do they always insult everyone else when they talk about Jesus?
How is this sign drawing me into wanting to know about Jesus?
Are they a Cult?
Are they a false Church?
are they teaching a "different gospel" like the scriptures warn us to be wary of?
Should we be praying for these neighbors, they seem to be totally unaware at how offensive they are being to the rest of us, in thinking that their Jesus is the only "authentic Jesus"
and the questions continue, and they are legitimate.... and all I can say, is perhaps the sign has something to do with some "sermon series", to motivate the congregation. But I confess, the leadership of this church, does NOT seem to realize how VAST the congregation is, that everywhere you go, you can see these signs, and they stand as a little symbol to all who do not go to that church, and what we see, is this....
you don't think we can have a real authentic relationship with Jesus with out YOU
you think you have the corner on the "authentic Jesus"
and if we want to have the "authentic Jesus" we should call YOU, or come to Your church...
somehow,
that makes it all about you, and your church,
and not about Jesus....
a little egotistical in my book.
I know sinners and saints who can call you on that one....
take the signs down, get OUT of your houses, and start loving your neighbors as yourselves, :) I know the more people have come to me on this issue, the more I have been convicted to come out and love them myself. It is through our obedience to the gospel, our active seeking to be transformed by the renewing of our minds and be changed, that they see Him in us. No sign in the yard will do as much as a cold glass of water on a hot day, or a cup of tea to visit over.
Love the LORD your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind
this is the first and great commandment
the second is like unto it
thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself
ON these two commandments hang ALL the law and the prophets
you are loved
No i mean the common garden variety signs, literally... Drive by the neighborhoods, and look at all the gardens, and lawns and you will truly be accosted! Signs for security systems JUST in case some thief has any BRIGHT ideas and can read. Or Signs advertising Roofers, or Siders, or Painters, or Asphalt layers. Then there are the Politicians. O Yes, the many fun and enthusiastic supporters various Political Leaders, has signs all over their lawn. Some are very mild, having only one demur sign on their lawn, and others, perhaps unable to pawn more signs off on unsuspecting neighbors or friends, put an enormous amount on their front lawn to really catch your fancy as you drive by.
But these are all the signs we ignore, for they are so plentiful, too frequent to obvious. Yes you have the occasional Someone turned 40, or 50, or maybe there is a gigantic hysterical stork on Mr & Mrs front lawn.... but then...
Then their are the signs that REALLY get the neighborhood chatting. These are the actually insulting signs. They are far and few between, actually, this, I confess as a mid thirty something, this is something entirely NEW to me. I am certain that is NOT new at all. For there is NOTHING new under the Sun. But such a foolish mistake by Brothers in Christ is just so grievous to me
Here it goes..... the "Authentic Jesus" signs.. They are very popular. One particular church is passing them around. People from this church put them all on their front gardens (lawns) and display this sign as a symbol of what would appear to be ... perhaps.... pride....
I don't know WHY, but perhaps because I am a bold Christian, perhaps because of certain past experiences with this church, people in my community, feel VERY comfortable coming up to me, and discussing with me how they are personally very INSULTED by this sign.
Do the people with the sign think they have the "only authentic Jesus"?
Are they saying my Jesus "is a false" Jesus?
Is there Jesus the ONLY Jesus In Town....?
Is that Church saying that Jesus only LOVES their members?
Is the only way to have an "authentic relationship" with the "authentic JESUS" to go to their church?
Why do they always insult everyone else when they talk about Jesus?
How is this sign drawing me into wanting to know about Jesus?
Are they a Cult?
Are they a false Church?
are they teaching a "different gospel" like the scriptures warn us to be wary of?
Should we be praying for these neighbors, they seem to be totally unaware at how offensive they are being to the rest of us, in thinking that their Jesus is the only "authentic Jesus"
and the questions continue, and they are legitimate.... and all I can say, is perhaps the sign has something to do with some "sermon series", to motivate the congregation. But I confess, the leadership of this church, does NOT seem to realize how VAST the congregation is, that everywhere you go, you can see these signs, and they stand as a little symbol to all who do not go to that church, and what we see, is this....
you don't think we can have a real authentic relationship with Jesus with out YOU
you think you have the corner on the "authentic Jesus"
and if we want to have the "authentic Jesus" we should call YOU, or come to Your church...
somehow,
that makes it all about you, and your church,
and not about Jesus....
a little egotistical in my book.
I know sinners and saints who can call you on that one....
take the signs down, get OUT of your houses, and start loving your neighbors as yourselves, :) I know the more people have come to me on this issue, the more I have been convicted to come out and love them myself. It is through our obedience to the gospel, our active seeking to be transformed by the renewing of our minds and be changed, that they see Him in us. No sign in the yard will do as much as a cold glass of water on a hot day, or a cup of tea to visit over.
Love the LORD your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind
this is the first and great commandment
the second is like unto it
thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself
ON these two commandments hang ALL the law and the prophets
you are loved
I'm with you on this one. When I first heard of the "said" signs I was both flabergasted and flummoxed. Then when you actually started seeing them, WHATEVER! First it was one sign then they started popping up every where..........some one make them go away, they're shameful. Like you said this IS just not the "authentic" Jesus who I know. A good post!
ReplyDeleteWell I'm not sure about the signs(it seems a little bit of a leap to conclude that their church thinks they are the only ones who have the authentic Jesus) but I do think the signs are better than going door to door, inviting people to church and not sharing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with them. At least they are supporting the name of Jesus and not "Harvest Loves".
ReplyDeleteYour ending cracked me up
..."you are loved"