There’s something about driving in a car that brings out the best in us. And by best I mean homicidal rage.
Following God is more than an hour commitment on Sunday or a visit to an orphanage. It’s about the way we live our lives. This means that God has something to say about all aspects of our life. And driving is no exception. So I decided to follow through with some good old fashioned Biblical advice and love my enemies.
Kind of radical, I know. But it was hard to follow through on that. How could I love someone when they were so clearly a moron? Didn’t God see the fact this guy didn’t use his turn signal?! Didn’t God know that parking space was mine?!
Of course God did.
But none of that excuses me for getting angry. And I knew I had to act.
The solution: drive-by prayers. Whenever someone cuts me off in traffic I take a deep breath and ask God to do something for that person. I don’t ask for wishy-washy “God please bless this person.” (Although there’s probably nothing wrong with that prayer.) But I prefer to spend some time and actively think of something specific to pray about. Maybe it’s good health, no car troubles, or just having a great day. I want what I pray for to have a real impact on their lives. I want them to know God’s greatness through that act. I try to focus on the other person, and in a small way, love them.
It’s not easy. Especially for those people who literally put your life in danger. Sometimes all I can do is ask God that the person ahead of me (or behind me) realizes that they are risking the lives of other drivers.
The one thing I include in all of these drive-by prayers is that whenever God acts on that prayer, they realize it comes from Him. In the end I have no idea if these prayers make a difference with these drivers. I’ll never see them again. But they impact me. They force me to think of others before myself, even when I don’t want to. They put me in a service mindset.
Like I said, this isn’t always easy. But being a Christian isn’t about doing things that are easy. It’s about living in a way that shows people we’re different. And that there’s something more to life than getting to soccer practice on time or meeting friends promptly at 5:00 for dinner.
reader comments: christian bumper stickers
Posted by e. barrett | Posted on 12-01-2009
Category : choice, faith, reader comments
Tags: Christian, christian bumper stickers, Christianity, dangerous driving, driving, faith, God, living out a life of faith
Every time I touch on the topic of driving I get emails from you guys. Apparently this is something we can all relate to. Or maybe we’re just all really, really good drivers on R3!
So lets take a look at two interesting ideas:
First up is Christopher from Got-fruit.net who says, “I sometimes wonder myself, how many of those folks sporting a sticker or badge on their cars (or wearing T-Shirts), is actually concerned with being Christ’s ambassador. Or are they more concerned with merely being in on the novelty (merely a group to belong to, or social activity to be active in) of Christianity? A novelty created in part I believe, when the message of “what God is going to do for you” is preached instead of preaching ‘what God has done for us.’”
R3 was formed as a place to explore what it means to live out a life of faith. And this is a great example of that idea. Do we identify ourselves as Christians because we want to show someone God’s grace and to help people see that they have unsurpassed worth in God’s eyes? Or do we do it because we want to make a statement for cultural, social, or political reasons?
Another reader said, “Sometimes I think people who have bumper stickers like that [christian fish, etc...] feel entitled to driver poorly because they have ‘god on their side’ but maybe I’m wrong.”
There’s a theme, I think, that runs through both of these comments. And it can be summed up in one word: entitlement. Is there a time that we Christians begin believing we are entitled to something? Maybe it’s entitlement to a political or social statement. Maybe it’s entitlement to protection from accidents.
But I believe Christians should be the least entitled people on the planet. Everything we receive comes from a gift of grace. How can we ever feel entitled from that? How can we ever act in a way that doesn’t reflect that grace and forgiveness back to people?
So what do you guys think? What do bumper stickers really mean? Is it an act of entitlement? Or is it a statement of faith, meant to bring people into a relationship with Jesus? Let me hear your comments in the thread.