Repent Jesus! Welcome to America!

"REPENT JESUS". Those words were hand stencil-painted across the back door of a nondescript Dodge van that passed me the other day. We have been back in the US for several months now and I am still getting used to the wide range of opinions freely expressed on the back of folks’ cars. Everything from political to religious to humorous expressions are provided for your reading pleasure while you drive down the highway or wait at the traffic light.


Repent Jesus. What is this supposed to mean? There was no grammatical punctuation (period or exclamation point) or explanation or hint in small letters underneath in parentheses. Is it a call to repent and turn to Jesus? Is it a demand that Jesus repent? What is he to repent from? What am I to repent from? What is it to repent? Who is the target audience? Non-believers? Believers gone astray? How would I respond if I really wanted to respond? (Fortunately there was no church name listed!) In the end I don't know if this is a message for or against Jesus.


The day we arrived back in the US a car passed us on the interstate with a bumper sticker that read, "The Blood of Jesus" ...period. Nothing else. No hint of explanation. Now I am grateful that I have been made a child of God and a follower of Jesus because of His blood shed on the cross. However, when I saw that phrase I asked myself what it meant, especially to the uninitiated into Christianese. Is it a cult? Is it a special formula? Where would I get some? Did the driver have some in their vehicle? What do I do with it- drink it, dabble it on myself or my house or car, or spread it around somewhere? I found I had more questions than answers.


I am glad we have the freedom to express our opinions. What a privilege to be able to freely share my faith. I admit I was soon thinking about my vehicle (and even my driving!). What message is displayed? Does it communicate what I want to communicate? Does it open a door to dialogue or shut it? How am I reflecting the One who made me and redeemed me? What kind of message are people reading from me?