Storm Damage

I was driving around today, enjoying the cold and rain and gray. Then in the midst of enjoying this brisk autumn weather, I suddenly realized it is already a cold winter.

What tipped me off? I saw this bumper sticker on the truck in front of me, and it broke my heart:

Dear Lord, please save me
from Your followers

There is a stigma in American culture today, sadly (albeit well) represented by this picture. Look at that man's face. It almost looks like he is about to giggle, but he is not: that is instead a grimace of pain. He's encountered yet another 'bible thumper'.

I wonder how many people have had hurtful experiences with closed-minded, argumentative, dogmatic Christians with really poor social skills? I wonder how many times that closed-minded, argumentative, dogmatic person has been me?

My guess at the answer to both questions is: way too many.

The kind of person who has been hurt in this way, and chooses to respond by putting that bumper sticker on their truck is like a broken tree, isolated and pushed away from an orchard, and that makes me very sad -- especially when the damage was done by someone who says they are following Jesus.The kind of person who would put a bumper sticker on their truck like the one I saw is the exact kind of person I want to know and relate to and just be normal around, because Jesus loves these people and they've been ripped off -- many times by yours truly.

~ Keith