How many times have you heard – “Did I happen to mention . . . “ and then someone finishes a thought. Indeed, every mention can become a conversation. Incidentally, this is exactly what Jesus does. He mentions things. In fact, He’s a master at mentioning critical information.
As we discuss the mark of a Christian in this content, we need to look at a modern, booming industry – marketing. Have you considered specific “marks” of your business, career, organization, and even your lifestyle? Think with me about some examples of “marks” – a logo, a saying or jingle, even a color.
For example, the color brown is trademarked by UPS. Did you know the background color orange is trademarked by Hershey’s for their Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups? What about a red circle with a red dot inside it – like a target? That’s right, the mark – the logo – of Target stores. Or consider the Olympic logo: 5 intersecting colored rings – blue, black, red, yellow, green. Then there’s that one-liner from the 1980’s commercial – “Where’s the beef?!” So, what do you think of? Wendy’s restaurants, right? What about the cute jingle – “I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener!” Guess what that mark was for? Yup! Oscar Mayer hot dogs!
Considering all these examples of marks, what’s the mark of a Christian?
We had a leap year this year. And it struck me again how that phenomenon only occurs every four years. So, what happens to the important stuff that occurs on Feb. 29th? Like a birth, anniversary, a death, start date of a business, etc. Do those special events get appropriate attention? Or do they make it on a list of important stuff we forget for another four years? From my connection with people who have a Feb. 29th event, most retain their date – but move celebrations or remembrances to the day before or after. What can we learn from this interesting reality?