Billboards aren't the answer

Today as my family and I began our trip home to New Mexico, we passed a billboard that read "Jesus is real." I was disheartened. How many of us Christians think that to say it makes it so? I believe that we are hurting the cause of the kingdom of God by speaking the words without anything else.

Can a homeless person stay warm inside those words? Can a hungry person eat them and be satisfied? Can an abused person find sanctuary in them? Can an addict find recovery in them? The answer, of course, is no to all of these questions because words alone don't cut it. We must BE Jesus to the world through our actions if He is to be real in a way that actually matters to the non-believer.

So my correction to such a billboard might be to have it read "Jesus is real. Come experience Him," with an address or phone number to get the person in touch with Christ's body - the Church. Then the person could find out what it means to have Jesus moving powerfully in his/her life. Jesus was all about making connections with people. We need to be, too.