Iron Mountain ski jump

Iron Mountain ski jump

Monday, July 18, 2016

SIN BAD, JESUS GOOD

Like most of us, there are times I say, “Why in h-e-double hockey sticks do I spend any time at all on Facebook?” Well, despite its frustrations, there are some good reasons, one of which is that occasionally you get to see the sign in front of First UMC of Sudan, TX, in a photo by Eric Roberts.

It says, “Too hot to keep changing sign. Sin bad. Jesus good. Details inside.”

In addition to the obvious, that being that it would have to be hot in a place in Texas called Sudan, it’s a marvelous starting point to understand life.

Sin bad. Yes. Sin is a break in relationship, with God, with another person, with society, with the world, with my own true self. Those breaks make life miserable, for me, and for everyone else.

Jesus good. Yes. The way of Jesus is justification, putting broken relationships back together. My old auto mechanic, the late, great “Shammy” Shambarger, used to talk about “justifying” an engine. If it did not run right, it meant the parts were not working together correctly. He put them back into harmony, justified them. [1]

Note that the sign says nothing about God. You don’t have to believe in God to know that sin is bad and that the way of Jesus, the way of forgiveness and justification, is good.

SIN BAD, JESUS GOOD is an excellent starting point for living life. In fact, it may be all that is necessary. However, if you want details, they are available.

JRMcF

1] That’s why we say that there is no peace without justice. Justice and justification come from the same root.


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