Labeled

Today I went into Surf-n-stuff, a shop that sells cool gear for dudes who understand what is trendy. I hoped to find a super cool denim wallet, carrying an all important brand name, as a gift for a special male teen in my family.

Now the stock in Surf-n-stuff was not cheap. There was no bargain bin or discount section. Obviously if you buy this gear, you're going to pay dear.

Brand names shout. That's what it's all about. You are judged by the label you wear and how you wear it.

I was glad I had decided on a wallet beforehand because it cut down my options in a bewildering world and anyway, if my rellie wasn't too keen on my choice, he could keep it in his pocket or chest of drawers and I wouldn't be offended. Chicken, aren't I?

Thankfully it turned out that he was rapt with it, but the whole thing got me thinking.

You guessed I'd come to this, didn't you? So I won't disappoint you.

There doesn't seem to be a range of products emblazoned with the label, Christian, so that those looking on can immediately identify with our good taste. Probably if someone launched such a line, its popularity would not be great enough to impress many as being super cool.

However, as I look around society, there seems to be a huge need for Christian stuff. I don't just mean Bibles, and greeting cards and things like that, but people who are proud to identify with Christ, to follow his lead in behaviour, in direction, in getting it together in lifestyle.

The Christian label might not be emblazoned on wallets or trendy clothing, but it is remarkably obvious in the facial expressions and actions of those who choose it. They don't shove it in a dark drawer.

I saw it recently on the faces of youth who’d been on a STORM Co trip, in the eyes of a girl who helped Grandma Harris into church, in the grin of a guy who had just discovered the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11 for himself.

Yep, it's gotta be the label, Christian, that does it. Or more accurately, it's gotta’ be the Christ who does it - for me and for you.