The Bull Horn

A couple of weeks ago, a family that is part of Missio Lux attended the People's Parade in Fremont. Now, you have to know Fremont. It's a quirky neighborhood in Seattle that attracts an eclectic mix of people. Once a year, they have a naked bicyle race. (I always wonder if that isn't terribly uncomfortable.....)

This family thought the naked bicycle race would be a handful of people. They quickly figured out that it was MANY handfuls of adventurous, hang it out there, people!

But, in a sense for this family, the naked bicyclers weren't as offensive as the man who came with the sign and the bull horn announcing that people were going to be judged by God and they were going to hell. He stood on the prominent corner and proclaimed this message to all the people that were present.

It hit Cathy pretty hard. She struggled with his view of God. She struggled with the message that he was conveying to a people that needed to know "God loves you" rather than "God is going to condemn you to hell for your behavior."

The next day when she was spending time with Jesus seeking his priorities for her day, she heard him say, "Go back and look for the man. Ask him what is driving his message. Ask him why he sees God this way. Go and be a witness to the witness."

Cathy took a big gulp and pretty much tried to worm her way out of her assignment for the day. She told her husband, "I have to go back."

So, she did. She said that "Every step I took closer to the corner, my feet got heavier and heavier. My thoughts became jumbled. I wanted to turn around and drive home as fast as I could."

But, she didn't do it. She kept on walking until she had walked through the entire fair and realized that he wasn't there. The Bull Horn was absent.

Cathy knew it was a test of her obedience. But, she also knew that she was prepared for next time. She discovered an idea that could counter his message too, perhaps bringing water to offer people on a hot day. No strings attached. No tracts attached to the bottle. Just a bottle of water to those Jesus loves and he created.

John 3:16-17 stand out to me for this subject:
"For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, Jesus, that whomever believes him him should not die but will have life that lasts for eternity. For God did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him."

Missio Lux is committed to being a loving light that will call others to the awareness that God is pursuing them, not to judge them and condemn them, but to be in an eternal relationship with them.

Where can you offer a bottle of cold water today?