Whenever I drive the back way home, I pass a nice home set on a hill. It’s a lovely place, and I always remember it as being well groomed. That is, until recently. I drove by there a couple of weeks ago, and the first thing I noticed was how unkempt and overgrown the place looked. The new growth on the bushes protruded in a haphazard manner. The grass was high and weeds sprouted in abundance. Fallen branches littered the lawn.
I was quite surprised. I noticed a sign at the far end of the large lot so I figured the mystery had been solved, that the house and grounds had deteriorated because the place was for sale and the owners had moved out.
When I drove around the curve where I could see what was written on the sign, it was an advertisement for a landscape and lawn maintenance company. I laughed out loud and said, “That’s what you want your yard not to look like.”
I don’t think the landscape company picked up any new customers from that sign.
On another occasion, I picked up a copy of a glossy program being sold at a national event. I flipped through the pages, enjoying the lovely smiles of those who were featured. And then I reached a page that left me puzzled. The people in the photo had odd expressions on their faces. One frowned. Another looked like he was in pain. Everyone in the photo was somber.
With all the other pages filled with smiling faces, it stood out as unusual. I sat there and studied it for a few minutes as I thought about the fact that this was the photo they’d chosen to draw people to them and the product they were advertising.
And then I read the text where it talked about “the joy of serving Jesus.” Oh my. Their faces certainly didn’t advertise that serving Jesus was a joyous privilege.
We laugh, but what are we advertising when it comes to our spiritual testimonies? Do others see lives that are overgrown with sin? Do they see folks who have allowed weeds of neglect to creep into their lives as they’ve missed time in prayer and Bible study?
Do they look at us as Christians and say, “Why would I want to be like that?”
You see, we so often forget that others are watching us. Stop and think about it: You might be the only representative of Jesus that some of them will ever see.
And just like the folks in the event booklet, if we don’t reflect the joy of Jesus as we serve Him, then why would others want to follow Him as well?
Sweet friends, is your life a good advertising campaign to draw folks to God? That’s something for all of us to think about today.
