a couple of weeks ago, i was home for my niece’s eleventh birthday. while opening presents, she unwrapped a gift card; which is a common enough gift. her response, however, was anything but. she squealed; and then kissed it! it was a burger king gift card, so at first i thought she may have had an unhealthy affection for the whopper. to my surprise, it was the picture on the front of that card that was the object of her affection . . . none other than the power-pop-sensation . . . the jonas brothers.
now, i’m completely out of touch with this realm of teen-mania, i can’t tell the difference between joe, nick, and any of the other new kids on the block. i know for a fact, nothing could move me to kiss a burger king gift card (i think). but, i was moved by her affection. i don’t know if i have ever loved anything as much as she loved these three rockin’ brothers. my nieces were here this weekend in chicago for the jb concert: jonas brothers unashamedly tatooed on their faces, arms, pants and signs that brazenly declared, “don’t charge me for the crime of loving you.”
paul describes our relationship with God in 2 Corinthians 1, saying, “He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” in the ancient rites of baptism, the anointing with aromatic chrism filled the baptismal chambers with the scent of one who had crossed from death to life so that anyone within nose-shot could smell that this one was a Christ-one. the seal from the baptismal tradition not only served to protect the believer’s ears, eyes, and mouth, but also served as an invisible sign on the forehead which bore the name of the one who died for all to see that this one is a Christ-one (for the flip-side see Rev. 13:16-18).
the baptized believer bears the name of Jesus for the world to see that this one is a Christ-one. yet how often have i hidden it like a tattoo that sounded like a good idea at the time. i don’t want to be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. yet for something that is infinitely more worthy of honor than the jo-bro’s, there are times when i pull up my spiritual hoody, duck my head, and hope nobody notices. Lord, when will i finally grow up and wear my faith like an 11-year old girl?
now, i’m completely out of touch with this realm of teen-mania, i can’t tell the difference between joe, nick, and any of the other new kids on the block. i know for a fact, nothing could move me to kiss a burger king gift card (i think). but, i was moved by her affection. i don’t know if i have ever loved anything as much as she loved these three rockin’ brothers. my nieces were here this weekend in chicago for the jb concert: jonas brothers unashamedly tatooed on their faces, arms, pants and signs that brazenly declared, “don’t charge me for the crime of loving you.”
paul describes our relationship with God in 2 Corinthians 1, saying, “He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” in the ancient rites of baptism, the anointing with aromatic chrism filled the baptismal chambers with the scent of one who had crossed from death to life so that anyone within nose-shot could smell that this one was a Christ-one. the seal from the baptismal tradition not only served to protect the believer’s ears, eyes, and mouth, but also served as an invisible sign on the forehead which bore the name of the one who died for all to see that this one is a Christ-one (for the flip-side see Rev. 13:16-18).
the baptized believer bears the name of Jesus for the world to see that this one is a Christ-one. yet how often have i hidden it like a tattoo that sounded like a good idea at the time. i don’t want to be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. yet for something that is infinitely more worthy of honor than the jo-bro’s, there are times when i pull up my spiritual hoody, duck my head, and hope nobody notices. Lord, when will i finally grow up and wear my faith like an 11-year old girl?
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