Give us a Sign!

When Jesus was on earth, the religious leaders asked Him for a sign to prove His identity and show He was really from God. And where he refused, it seems the Christian church has obliged... But I don't think it's what either of them were looking for.

How often do you look at marquees? I mean really look at them. Read what is says, think about it, reflect even further upon it, and have it actually affect your life. Whether this sign is for a business, a movie, or a church, do you ever care?

Someone I admire greatly, a local pastor here named John Lynch, has a pet peeve that I'm starting to relate to. His classic story is of when he was driving past a church in the middle of another smoldering Phoenix summer, and their marquee out front said: "Think this is hot? Imagine what hell is like!" I hear about that and I just picture this clergyman in his church, sitting, pining over what to put up outside that will really grab people and draw them to his church... And that's what he comes up with.

But it's not just negative messages that undoubtedly come across the wrong way! There are churches preaching a positive message through their marquees that I just can't help but think aren't received as they intended. One church I drive past every day on my way to work has had a couple messages emblazoned in bold letters: "Depressed? Jesus can help." They've had other variations, but all point back to Jesus as being able to help.

What does that mean? Put yourself in the car seat of that passerby that reads that sign... You are depressed, you do need help... But what's Jesus gonna do for you? The general consensus of much of the non-believing world is that Jesus is just some religious zealot that died 2000 years ago. So how in the world is some dead guy going to help them with their depression and their very-much-alive problems?

That is the question I think this sign raises, and I imagine it all too often goes unanswered. Yet the answer is so simple! It's so elementary that it seems too obvious. The answer is this: CHRISTIANS!

After raising from the dead and spending some time with His disciples, one of the last things Jesus said to them before leaving this world is what we now call the Great Commission. It was His pep talk, His marching orders, and His final directive: "Go and make disciples of all nations!" Put simply: "Go tell people about my love!"

The beauty of this and the greatness of the mission God has for this world is that He INTENDS FOR US TO DO THE WORK. Otherwise, why would Jesus ever have left? Don't get me wrong, anything we do, we do by the grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit... He gets all the credit, but we get to take part in His plan. The word "apostle" comes from the Greek word "apostolos," which means MESSENGER. Christ provides us with hope through the grace He offers on the cross, but we are the ones that spread that hope...

Which brings me back to the guy on the freeway reading that sign. While Jesus can most definitely help him, the vehicle through which he can receive that help is none other than Joe Christian. To this guy, "Depressed? Jesus can help" may mean nothing. But how much more may his life be touched, and how willing would he be to stop at that church if it read:

"Depressed? WE would love to help."

I think Christians need to show the world that we care. We know that this world is fallen and that something, many somethings, have gone terribly wrong. And life hurts, and it is not fair, and sometimes it makes us mad... but the very reason Jesus can help is because this is not the way He intended it to be. So He figured out a way to make it right. And rather than attempt to appeal to some self-righteous religious piety and hide our own pain behind Christian jargon, we need people to know that we hurt too. So many people feel they cannot approach Christians and be "real" with them because they always act like they have it all together. I'd like to speak on behalf of all Christians who are willing to be honest when I say that I don't have all the answers, I get scared, I get mad, sometimes I feel lost, sometimes I lose hope... But by the grace of Christ alone, I come back.

Because of that grace, Christians have something very real and very practical to offer those that need help. Sure, Jesus can most definitely help that guy in his car...we just need to show him how.