I happen to own a large mug that sports the Los Angeles Dodgers' logo on the side. I use the term 'mug' rather loosely, because I have never been quite sure of what to call it.
At 6.5 inches tall, measuring 14 inches around the rim, it has served me well for more than a decade... toting hot or cold drinks, soup, or porridge whenever I needed to head out in a hurry. It keeps contents hot or cold for a few hours, but it is not a thermos. It has a huge handle, so I would not call it a cup. It also has a lid with openings - one for pouring and one for inserting a straw - so it does not really qualify as a regular mug either. Nevertheless, the point is that it exists and it belongs to me... huge 'cu-mug-ermos' that it is.
Several years ago, this mug became mine because it was 'married' to a package that I was interested in purchasing, and it appeared to be useful enough for me not to take issue with this strange marriage.
Every single time that I need to wash this mug, I look at the logo and smile. You see... I have never visited the United States of America, so I have never been up close and personal with a baseball diamond. I have never watched a game of American baseball, and I have zero interest in the game, so I am not a Dodgers fan by any stretch of the imagination.
But here I am, going from place to place with a mug that boasts their logo.
Have you ever wondered about the bumper stickers that scream 'Jesus is Lord', while questionable music blares from the speakers? (Yes... I usually conclude the vehicle was borrowed too.) ;)
Or the lovely T-shirts with Christian catchphrases that are worn with skirts that barely cover the derrière, or pants that tell you if the owner has been circumcised or not (in the case of the men)?
I try not to wonder, but the truth is that I sometimes do.
In my defence... I usually wonder more about me than about them, because I would not want my Christian experience to mimic my Dodgers' mug scenario... all label and no experience.
When I say I am a Christian, I want it to mean something. Something more than belonging an exclusive club of nicely-dressed folk who do nothing but sit in pews and talk about religion for one day each week.
Christianity is nothing if not walking as Christ walked... seven days per week.
One songwriter refers to that kind of Christian as a sermon in shoes, but I have seen a few living sermons shod with nothing but the 'preparation of the gospel of peace' (Ephesians 6:15), in order to fill someone else's need. The point is, however, that Christians do more than 'talk the talk'. True Christians walk the walk... following Christ closely while He leads.
My label means nothing if it is not backed by an experiential knowledge of the Saviour, and - when the rubber hits the road - that will be all that matters.
- Am I daily seeking His face in His Word, communing with Him in prayer, and living in accordance with His precepts?
- Am I still compartmentalizing my life, or am I living the one life that He intended for me?
- Do I see my fellow travellers (including my detractors) in light of the Cross, or is self still holding sway?
- Am I more comfortable in the pew than I am in serving others?
..... just a few things that ran through my mind as I rinsed my Dodgers' mug.
If we truly want to spend eternity with Christ, would it not make complete sense for us practise for that life now by following Him closely in this life?
Today, may we purpose in our hearts to be much more than a label "..... forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, [let us] press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Phillipians 3:13-14, emphasis mine)
Pressing.....
