Try Jesus

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......if you don't like Him the devil will always take you back!

We've probably all seen the bumper sticker. I saw it again the other dayand, for some reason, this time it almost offended me. I was so frustrated at its message that I almost got out at stop light and conversed with the driver of the car about it. The attitude of many Christians simply bothers me.

Obviously if a person has a bumper sticker like this they consider themself a 'Christian'. Also, this is probably considered by them to be 'witnessing', and that is why I'm so angry at the whole situation. It's not consistent with the scriptures. Maybe I'm over-reacting. Maybe the first time it was ever stated it wasn't stated with intention of being contrary to scripture. Maybe it was even 'cute' and 'catchy' to those who initially heard it. However, we cannot use principles which are inconsistent with scripture to further the kingdom of God. Can we?

Try Jesus. Where does this thought come from? I find quite the opposite message in scripture. I don't find a casual approach to the Savior taught. I find things like Luke 14:28-33 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be my disciples who does not give up all his possessions.

That doesn't sound like a 'give it a try what do you have to lose attitude', does it? Rather, it sounds like an intentional, pre-consideration realizing that once committed its all or nothing. Jesus hasn't called us to 'give him a try'. He's called us to radical discipleship. No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God, He said (John 9:62) Try Jesus? Hardly the message of scripture.
Our churches are full of people who are trying Jesus, and our collective witness is weak because of it. We have been called, challenged, commanded to 'Follow Me'. That means 'forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. If we aren't 'sold out', completely convinced, radical in our 'following' Christ, never will we 'witness' with any power.

So, Try Jesus.....if that's all you're doing, the devil still has you. __________________________________________________