Travelling Billboards

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12-17 ESV). Just when you thought you’d heard it all; an advertising company has developed a new twist in the business. An enterprising California man has capitalized on the idea of transforming private automobiles into traveling billboards. Daniel Shifrin's company pays drivers up to $400 a month to have their personal cars draped with a clear vinyl wrapper that touts everything from insurance to ice cream. One rival company is planning to offer carefully selected applicants a pre-wrapped car to drive free for two years. And there hasn’t been a shortage of people willing to be traveling billboards. While some people object to this further intrusion of advertising into private life, others see no difference between a wrapped car and the designer logos on shirts and jeans. "I'm making the choice to do with my car as I please," said a San Francisco driver who receives $250 every month for a partial wrap. Actually, that’s a part of what taught in our verses this morning. All of us are wrapped in something and we choose what it is every day. From our clothes to our personalities, we are walking advertisements for something or someone. When Paul wrote to the Christians in Colosse, he urged them, ". . . clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. . . . And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity" (Colossians 3:12,14). In other words, we are to wrap ourselves in Christ and let His presence permeate everything we do and say. That begins with quiet time to talk to the Lord in prayer and to listen to Him through His Word. It continues by offering ourselves to Christ each day, asking Him to show us the way to honor Him in all our relationships, and receiving the Holy Spirit's power to follow through. A car that looks like a pint of ice cream is worth a second look. And so is a person who acts like Jesus. What will you advertise today? Make a conscious effort to show others the character of Jesus in all you do and say today.