I typically don't like phrases on church signs. They seem contrite, giving unsolicated advice or simple solutions to life's problems. People who drive by might be experiencing chaos and read something like...- Don't wait for 6 strong men to take you to church.
- Give Satan an inch and he'll be a ruler.
- God answers "Knee Mail."
Here's what annoys me the most. 1) Signs that ask questions but don't provide answers. 2) Signs that include mispellings or incorrect word usage. 3) Signs that sound superior, assuming the sign-maker has all the answers, and the passerby is being enlightened.
In my opinion, church signs should be kept simple: worship service times, sermon topics, community service, program opportunities, and basic Bible verses. Let's quit trying to reword what God has to say in cutesy and humorous ways and just say it as God says it.
Okay, now that I've slammed most church signs (and potentially offended many of you who enjoy posting them), I have to admit I was caught off guard today when I drove by a church and saw this sign on the marquee:
Give your life to Jesus. He can do a lot more with it than you can.
Well, it made me pause and consider what I'm holding back from God. How I'm a barrier to my own purpose because only when I'm willing to give everything about myself to him so he can shape and use me however he intends am I really going to be fulfilling my pure purpose.
Other people who drove by the same church sign today probably had varying responses. They might not know what "give your life to Jesus" means. They might have been wounded by someone in a church at some point, someone who said similar words but didn't live them out. So the sign stirred up anger. And others might have seen so many contrite comments on church signs, they now easily ignore them.
But I realized today that God speaks to me in ways in which I thought I'd closed my ears and eyes.
- When do you tend to not look and listen for God and therefore don't expect to see and hear from him?
- What are you holding back from God?
- Do you believe: "Give your life to Jesus. He can do a lot more with it than you can."?
You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. - Deuteronomy 30:20 (NLT)
