I saw a girl wearing a "Got Jesus?" T-shirt in a store parking lot the other day. It initially amused me, as a clever takeoff on the "Got Milk?" commercials.
But then I began to think about it a bit more.
What does it mean to "get Jesus"? What is intended by such a slogan, and then advertising it on one's shirt? What is the goal of this? To spark conversation? To remind someone to check the sinner's prayer off that day's to-do list? To make someone smack their forehead and say, "Oh shoot -- I picked up the dry cleaning, brought the kids to soccer practice, but I forgot to get Jesus."
The shirt struck me as an unfortunate attempt to get the word out about one's religious convictions, without actually having to say or do anything, other than wear the shirt (or put on the bumper sticker). But is it meaningful?
I certainly can identify with the convictions that went behind the making (or wearing) of such a shirt -- a realization that an interaction with the historical (and many would say living) first-century Jewish man named Jesus is a worthwhile, even life-changing endeavor. My own life has been impacted in incredibly profound and powerful ways by this very thing.
Yet it seems to me a bit presumptuous to assume that one can ever "get" or "have" Jesus, as if he's just another accessory like the latest iPhone. I would think he is way beyond our ability to possess him.
Perhaps a better question might be "Does Jesus have you?" But again, posting this on your car bumper or across your chest is more likely to achieve an annoyed glance than anything else. It's definitely doubtful whether it's going to have any kind of meaningful impact.
Not to pick on one T-shirt, or one slogan, or even one girl -- but it all seemed representative to me of the dumbing down of our religious and spiritual convictions.
When we can reduce Jesus -- a man who caused others to walk and live differently, to cast off the stereotypes that had long held them captive, to refuse to bow the knee to a powerful pagan empire, to love neighbors and enemies alike -- to a milk mustache, we've done him (and our fellow Jesus followers) a real disservice.
Advertising how spiritual we are seems to accomplish only one thing: alienating the very people we may be trying to reach. If we actually started to live like Jesus, rather than market him, perhaps we'd begin to see some of the positive changes we're looking for in the world.
Bryan Berghoef is pastor of The Watershed Church and facilitator of a weekly Pub Theology group. For past Perspective columns, written by area religious leaders, log on to record-eagle.com/perspectives.
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