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Muriel Larson

Every morning, the school traffic patrolwoman stood at her station helping children get across the road safely. Every morning, a certain man came down that road, slammed on his brakes and scowled at her. As his car passed, she noticed a sign on the back bumper saying, “God loves you.” She had a slight acquaintance with the man and knew he professed to be a Christian.

Finally, she could take it no longer. One day, she waved the man over to the curb. “Sir,” she said, “you have a sign on your car that says ‘God loves you.’ But anyone looking at you would get a distinctly different message. I suggest you either remove the sign or take that scowl off your face!”

The man looked at her in surprise and embarrassment. Then he drove on. From that time on, the patrolwoman noticed the man’s scowl had been replaced by a cheerful expression.

Many of us do not realize that the appearance we give to the world contradicts our Christian profession. We’re harried, we’re rushed, and we’re impatient. We growl, we scowl, and we howl. Yet we profess to be Christians, and may even have a sign on our car or house that testifies for the Lord.

Someone has said, “What you are speaks so loudly that I can’t hear what you’re saying.” What do our lives tell others about our Christianity?

Muriel Larson is a freelance writer from Greenville, S.C.

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Last modified May 23, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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