The Eraser.

I was driving to work yesterday and happened to notice a sign outside a church that said....

"Life without Jesus is like a broken pencil, there is no point."

I gave it some thought.  I didn't really think about Jesus though.  I thought about the broken pencil.  Then I thought about how signs like this really don't do anything to help people understand the love that is Jesus.  Signs like this need to be thrown away.  Or perhaps a new one put up letting people know that this building is a place you can have your pencils repaired.  

Thomas Edison, clearly no point to his life.  

Sorry, I took a brief pause from writing to do a google query on "famous atheists that changed the world."  So many contributions made to society.  

You don't need Jesus to do good things.  You don't need Jesus to love people.  You don't need Jesus to care about those that are hurting.  You don't need Jesus to care for the widow and the orphan.  

Jesus can be your inspiration.  But God help us all if you found out Jesus was a myth and you quit your good contribution to society.  What am I getting at?  If Jesus is your only inspiration for helping people, I guess that's good.  But you'll lose steam.  You should help people because, well, they need help.   Jesus didn't feed the 5000 because they deserved it.  He fed them because they were hungry.  He wasn't thinking, if I don't feed them God will be disappointed in me mentality.

If you truly believe that life without Jesus has no point.   I feel sorry for you.  And I don't believe you have a real and authentic understanding of who Jesus is.  But that's probably not your fault.  You've probably not ventured far from the belief system that was handed to you since your birth.  Let me help you gain a new perspective on a broken pencil, instead of it being pointless.

Imagine a broken pencil.  Right in half.  Do you see trash?  A useless tool?  I don't.  And I don't think Jesus would either.  You could sharpen the half that has the eraser still attached and you just have a shorter pencil.  And whoever the recipient is of the message from the pencil, they'll never know the difference.   You could take the other side of the pencil and sharpen both ends.  That way it doesn't matter how you pick it up, you'll be able to write.  And you can keep the pencil with the eraser too, just in case you make a mistake.  So now you have three points you can use.  You can write three times longer before the pencil needs sharpened again.  

And lets not let forget....what is the coolest thing about a pencil anyway?  The eraser.  The great mistake remover.  Do I even need to elaborate..... Jesus was a healer.  He was a comforter.  He was rest for the weary and broken.  He can help you make peace with all your past mistakes and help you make better ones in the future.  I don't ever remember reading about him telling that if they didn't have him in their life they were worthless.  That doesn't sound like Jesus.  

So churches...be careful with the message you are sending.  Sometimes it's much more hurtful than it is helpful.