Driving for Jesus

Driving for Jesus...I know silly title and this might seem like such a ridiculous topic but I find it to be extremely important for followers of Jesus. I drove around Nashville for 14+ years and the saying was always "those Nashvillians are a bunch of idiots, they drive with no concern for others who are on the road." (this included me for 10 of those 14+ years). Since moving to Bradenton I have found that it isn't just Nashvillians that have driving issues, it is all around us, no matter where we go. And if the stats are correct about the Christian population in America (70-76% depending on where you get your info) the vast majority of drivers in Nashville and Bradenton and all of America for that matter claim Jesus as Lord, yet do we drive like it? This sounds absurd, it types absurd as well, but if Christians are going make an impact in the world it has to start with our day to day activities, which includes how we drive.

The old Alabama song which includes this phrase "I'm in a hurry to get things done I rush and rush until life is no fun" fits drivers in America perfectly, it fits Christian drivers in America perfectly. We are all guilty of it, staring someone down when they do something on the road we consider foolish. We stare them down as if we are going to jump out of our car rush over and attack them, knowing that we will in no way do something that stupid, but we stare them down anyways and think such lovely thoughts about them. And all for what? Someone got in front of you? Someone ALMOST hit you, supposedly? Someone did something intentional or by mistake and you are going to release your wrath on them. And if the Christian population is close 70-76% we are more than likely acting this way/ thinking this way towards another brother or sister in Christ.

Think about that...not all Christians have the fish symbol or any type of Christian symbol on their car...but some do and we all have seen them  (and we are at times them) do something on the road that is out of character for a Christian or even act out while driving that is out of character for a Christian...and people do notice these things. Non-believers notice how church going folk act in the world and it is safe to say they have at times more negative examples of us to tell than positive.

No doubt there are some not to intelligent drivers out there on the road and some days those people are us. We all make silly mistakes while driving and we want people to be compassionate towards us when we make those mistakes, why do we not extend that compassion towards others?

Last point...Jesus calls his followers to live out a radical type of love (agape) that includes loving those who mistreat us and loving (agaping) those we consider to be our so called enemies (Sermon on the Mount stuff)...how will we ever get to that point when we struggle to simply be kind and compassionate towards others driving along beside us?