I’ve Been Branded – Do You See it?

Today, I had just gotten back to the apartments right after my day job – working at a quick food restaurant that sells magic chicken nuggets peddled by poor spelling cows on billboards and roadsides. (PLEASE NOTE: No where in any of my blogs do I ever tell the name of said establishment. Any presumption is on your part, not mine – but I pretty much think you know.)

So, here I am getting out of my Tacoma – wearing the red polo and black hat – and carrying a salad for Lisa stuffed in a big plastic bag with a familiar logo on it. And out came this father and young son. “Daddy, Daddy, It’s the ####-###-# man. Hey Mr ####-###-#, you got any nuggets. I love your nuggets.  Where are going Mr ####-###-# man? Do you make the nuggets for the kids? I love your playground.” We kept the conversation going for a bit, making a connection to a young child who now connects me forever to the magical chicken nugget land (and great waffle fries too!) I wish had some of those nuggets to share (Lisa would’ve understood.) So we said goodbye, I told him to look for me next time he was there.

What am I getting at? Being branded had taken place. I was branded – something that, on its own, had taken on the identity of the product or service itself. Now, I realize that the uniform was what made that connection, but I was wearing it – so I was branded. I tried to think of my Christian walk. Am I, are you, branded as followers Christ? Do people see us and immediately connect us to the love and grace and good news of Jesus and what He offers each of us? Are people excited about our ‘message’ and our ‘product’?

I was branded – something that, on its own, had taken on the identity of the product or service itself … do people connect us to the love and grace and good news of Jesus?

I think it is more than wearing a cross, donning the newest Christian T-shirt, attaching a fish bumper sticker to your car, or listening to the latest Hillsong track. It is about a lifestyle that screams grace and mercy – and I put forth two things that do that.

First it is loving God with everything – all our strength, mind, and might.

And the second is to live a Spirit filled life bearing the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, and so on.

I want to be branded by His love – branded with a Spirit-filled life – and branded where people are drawn to Him. Let my light shine before men that they may see my good works and glorify my Father who is in heaven. Let your light shine too – let’s show our brand together.