The first house you see as you drive into my neighborhood always sports some variation of a “Turn or Burn” sign held up by some cheap PVC piping. You know, something to the effect of:
One day last winter when the snow had just fallen, Sean-Martin and I pulled into the neighborhood and saw the tell-tale tire marks that indicated someone turned that corner just a little too fast and spun out. And wouldn’t you know, whatever driver made those marks ended up in that guy’s front lawn. Instantly, my heart leaped at the possibility that perhaps the evangelism sign had been taken out! My eyes followed the tracks. Lo and behold, I say unto you… the sign was still standing steadfastly in its place. The mailbox, however, was toast.
Dammit.
Well. What’re ya gonna do?
Here’s a sign that those of us here in the Treasure Valley can see when we’re driving east on I-84 that scrolls scripture verses on it. Sean-Martin and I can get our daily scripture reading done on our way home from work every day. And, of course, we’ve all seen the signs posted outside churches. The wisdom gleaned from these can range from profound to inspirational to hilarious to clever to frightening:
We all have a message, don’t we? And we all have a choice as to how to spread that message. Some have more effective strategies than others.
Yesterday I came across a person who wanted to tell me something by leaving me some reading material while I peed. You heard me — while I peed. As if I don’t bring my PHONE into the bathroom stall so I can get on Facebook in case I have to go number two.
In any case, here is the story in pictures:
Thank you to everyone who complimented me on my pedicure.
Are you familiar with these tracts? I read them all when I was little — even the really scary ones because they were the truth and anybody who read one and didn’t accept the Lord Jesus Christ immediately into their hearts as their personal Lord and Savior were going to burn in Hell forever because they rejected the Good News that they were as sinful as lowly worms grovelling on the ground in their own muck and mire and didn’t have the good sense to get saved even though they were now going to be held accountable for the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross because the information was made plain to them in the form of this cartoon evangelistic tool courtesy of Jack Chick.
Here’s where I’m at now with this whole “leaving tracts lying around” thing. Some people call this evangelism. I call it littering.
Just for kicks, I went into the other stall to see if there was any litter left there and… EUREKA!
Now, I know that perhaps some of you are mortified right now that I have literally stolen someone’s chance to “be saved” and threw their opportunity to personally know Jesus Christ right into the trash — not once, but twice, with the pictures to prove it — and that this one single, solitary effort on the part of an anonymous, obedient Christian who left these tracts in the bathroom stalls in a McDonald’s in McMinnville, Oregon, is all for naught and somebody is going to burn in Hell for all eternity because of my dismissive and insolent actions.
Yeah, I don’t think so.
I’ve worked in the restaurant business where people have left things like this for their servers…
…and I have heard the utterly foul remarks that actions like these incite in the hearts of those whom Christ actually cares about in a real and tangible way. Boy howdy, have I heard some trash talk, and what could I do as a fellow Christian but put my arms around these waiters and waitresses whose feet hurt, whose backs hurt, who just poured out their best service and got stiffed… and apologize to them on behalf of someone else? Offer them five bucks out of my own pocket just to make an attempt to prove that not all Christians are like that?
Listen, I have no problem leaving love notes for people. Jesus left us all a 783,137-word love note (if you’re reading the KJV), but you know what? He came here first. He fed people. He healed people. He put His arms around people. He defended people. He loved people. And He also happened to leave us with some reading material. Jesus was the Word. Jesus IS the Word. And here’s the kicker:
The Word became FLESH.
He DWELT among us.
So, I have no problems with words… as long as those words are the embodiment of our own flesh broken and spilled out for our fellow humans that reflects the example of the One Who gave everything — even His own life — for us. For all of us.
All.
Of.
Us.
May I leave these words with you:
Tweet ThisBring Good News to the Poor
Bind Up the Broken Hearted
Bring Freedom to the Captives and
Release from the Darkness for Prisoners
It seems like I’m posting this week after week after week on here. I keep reminding everybody that being one of the #HopeGivers is hard. That it’s so easy to sit behind your keyboard on Facebook and try to change the world one political post at a time.
It’s so easy to leave a tract in the bathroom stalls in a McDonald’s and walk away feeling like you’ve done something powerful for the Kingdom than it is to shine the Light of God and bring HOPE in a way that is tangible and relevant and profoundly life-changing during these tumultuous times.
I don’t hold out a whole lotta HOPE that this post has changed any minds today. I think, in fact, I’ve probably pissed some people off. That’s not my intention. And I’m pretty confident that there may be those who do not believe for a minute that pissing people off is not my intention. What can I do about that? I don’t know. But I do know that there are a number of #HopeGivers out there in this world who are doing amazing things — amazingly difficult things — to bring the Good News to a world in such desperate need of some. Not enough, actually. The laborers are perilously few.
I read that somewhere, in fact, and from what I’ve seen, it’s spot on. Too few. Way too few.
Yet everywhere I look, I see people taking the easy way, that wide road, falling for what I call “The Great Distraction” that only serves to derail us from our very purpose on this earth, which is to usher in the Kingdom of God. I wrote a whole book about it.
We all have a message, don’t we? And we all have a choice as to how to spread that message. Some have more effective strategies than others.
If I have not persuaded you to be a Hope Giver and take the hard road, the narrow road, then spread your message however you feel is right. I don’t know what else to say.
To be fair, if you are interested in reading the first pamphlet, The Choice, click away. If you are interested in reading the second pamphlet, Man of the Match, click away. I suspect, though, that the content in these tracts may spur entirely new conversations, but all that is for another blog post.
Until then, please go out and BE the miracle that people need.
Love to all,
Daisy Rain
Daisy Rain Martin is an author, speaker, advocate, and educator as well as a founding member of The Flying M-Inklings Writing Group. She lives with her husband, Sean-Martin, in the beautiful state of Idaho and teaches English and Literature during the school year to the best 7th graders the world over. Daisy spends her summers writing, speaking, researching, creating, gardening, and canning.
Hope Givers: Hope is Here, is the sequel, of sorts, to her comedic, spiritual memoir, Juxtaposed: Finding Sanctuary on the Outside, which was Christopher Matthews #1 top selling book in 2012. She has also written a free e-book for anyone who has or is currently being sexually abused called, If It’s Happened to You.
Please follow her weekly blog, SATURDAISIES, which addresses a plethora of current issues including child advocacy, all things hilarious, and matters of the heart. She would love for you to join the Rainy Dais Communityby friending her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.