Bumpersticker Man

The other day I was parked at a stop-light in Ames. Ahead of me was a car loudly decorated with lots of bumper stickers showcasing this driver’s atheist beliefs. He had one of those magnets that make a mockery out of the Christian fish symbol that said ‘evolve’ and it had little feet on it. Amongst a bunch of other anti-Christian stickers one of them read “If you’ve been born again, do you have two belly buttons?” That one actually made me laugh out loud and by the way while I was scanning this guy’s car I was also talking to Jake on the phone and he knew that I was not focusing on our conversation because I cannot at all multi-task in my mind (in body yes, but not in mind). This was evident from my “yeah, uh-huh, yeah,” responses to his jabbering. So, I told him to hang on while I continued to read through the 89 bumper stickers on this guy’s car before the light turned green.

Now, let me say that I was laughing at all of this hocus pocus on the outside, but on the inside when I see these sorts of things I always get all revved up. I feel attacked, I feel mad, and on this particular day I found myself thinking a very sinful and judgmental thought that went like this: “God, why don’t you just strike that driver down right now?” Pretty honest and scary revelation of my heart, but there you have it folks. That’s what I was thinking, and I’ve thought it before like the time when I went to an atheist vs. Christian debate on campus. That’s an entirely different story, but you get the picture. Well, after I thought this, God put a few things in my mind.

First, I thought of Saul. Saul was a man who horribly persecuted Christians. To get a good picture of his story you can read Acts chapters 8 & 9 (and the rest of his story is continued throughout Acts). It’s a pretty crazy one about a man who hated Christians to the point that he approved of the stoning death of Stephen who spoke out for Jesus (Acts 7:54-60), he began to destroy the Christian church by going home to home and dragging off believers and throwing them in prison (Acts 8:3), and he threatened to murder Jesus’ disciples (Acts 9:1). BUT then, he had a pretty crazy encounter with Jesus in Acts chapter 9 which is a MUST read. After this encounter God drastically changes his life, he is filled with the Holy Spirit, is baptized and he begins preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God (he also starts being referred to as Paul later on in Acts). The last verse in the book of Acts says this of Paul: Boldly and without a hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 28:31). He also went on to write numerous books of the New Testament like Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Philippians, and others. Wowza. That is what I call a transformed life.

Then I thought of the guy who wrote this book:
The author is Lee Strobel who in this book traces his journey from being a professed atheist to a believer in Jesus Christ. He started as a skeptic of Christianity and began an investigation as to whether or not there was credible evidence that Jesus really was the Son of God. He approached this investigation from a journalist stand-point, and he concluded it as a Christ-follower.

And then do you know what former NON-Christ follower and NON-God glorifier was brought to mind next? Me. Myself. And I. The following verse is a good description of me before I knew Jesus: She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not (Proverbs 5:6). And this one described me too: As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath (Ephesians 2:1-3). God’s wrath that is. According to the Bible, those who have not whole-heartedly accepted Jesus as their Savior and received forgiveness for their sins will be punished with God’s wrath. And that used to be me. Before I knew Jesus. As God gave me this reality check that I was also once deserving of the condemnation that I was silently petitioning for this guy, I felt pretty humbled to say the very least.

In these moments I remembered that when Jesus was hanging on the cross, after being falsely accused, insulted, and then crucified, he didn’t petition God to have even one of the Jewish leaders, Roman politicians, soldiers or bystanders that rejected him to be struck down. Instead as he was being crucified he said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34) I want to be like that. Even if it’s only in the driver’s seat of my car, staring rejection of Jesus right in the face in the form of bumper stickers.

Then I felt it. This little feeling inside that whispered for me to try out Jesus’ attitude. To pray. To pray for the driver in front of me. Gulp. This was hard. But, I put myself into this man’s shoes and remembered that I too was sitting in his boat only a few years ago. And, I prayed from there, that God would open this man’s eyes to truth the way he did for Saul, and the way he did for Lee Strobel, and the way he did for me.

Over the next week I found myself praying for this guy again. And I found myself even more thankful for my own salavation....more than ever before. Thank you God that even when we reject you, your forgiveness stands in wait. Thank you God for my reality check on South Duff Avenue that I too was once under Your wrath, but have instead repented and found Your mercy and grace. Thank you that you didn’t strike me down before I came to a knowledge of truth and surrendered my heart to You. Thank you for the new life you have given me in Jesus….certainly not a life with two belly buttons, but a life beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

2 Timothy 2:24-26
And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.