Most of us are familiar with those cute little sayings so often seen on Church billboards, such as: "7 days without God makes one weak." Recently, my mother-in-law sent me a list of witty signs. I thought I would share a few of them with you today.
The following are purported to be actual signs seen posted in today’s world…
In a Podiatrist's Office:
"Time wounds all heels."
**************************
On a Plumber's Truck:
"We repair what your husband fixed."
**************************
At a Tire Store:
"Invite us to your next blowout."
**************************
In a Non-Smoking Area:
"If we see smoke, we will assume that
you are on fire and take appropriate action."
**************************
At an Optometrist's Office:
"If you don't see what you're looking for,
then you've come to the right place."
**************************
On a Taxidermist's window:
"We really know our stuff."
**************************
On a Homeowner’s Fence:
"Salesmen welcome! Dog food is expensive!"
**************************
At a Car Dealership:
"The best way to get back on your feet
is to miss a car payment."
**************************
Outside a Car Exhaust Store:
"No appointment necessary. We hear you coming."
**************************
In a Veterinarian’s Waiting Room:
"Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!"
**************************
In a Restaurant Window:
"Don't stand there and be hungry;
come on in and get fed up."
**************************
In the Front Yard of a Funeral Home:
"Drive carefully. We'll wait."
**************************
Okay. The last one may have pushed the envelope just a bit. But you do have to appreciate the humor involved.
Signs, you see, are actually a part of our everyday life. They are commonplace. So much so that they tend to go unnoticed. Thus, advertisers look for creative ways to help a client stand out and get noticed. Hence the effectiveness of these simple but humorous signs.
I find it interesting that when Jesus came to be born into this world, He did so in the midst of the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It would have been so easy for this tremendous event to have been overlooked by the people of that busy time.
Therefore, God sent His angel to a group of shepherds, the most ordinary of people in that day, and had him announce to them that they would see a “sign” that would show them just Who the Savior was.
Luke 2:10-12 records the angel’s words: "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
What?! A babe, lying in a manger! Mangers are troughs, long low open containers from which livestock eat. Who puts newborn babies in mangers? The mere thought is incongruous. The absurdity of the notion makes it almost humorous. Thus, it immediately grabs our attention and holds it. It demands that we pause and consider what we have just encountered.
Of course, the answer to the question, “Who puts newborn babies in mangers?” is none other than God Himself. And He does it for the very reasons I have stated above. He wants to grab our attention, and to hold it. He wants us to pause and reflect and consider the significance of what we have just encountered.
And well we should. Because we will never encounter any greater paradox than this: that God chose to incarnate Himself. That He chose to come to the very people He had created and who had in turn sinned against Him, and to become one of them and to dwell among them. And that He did this in order to show them just Who God is, and just what God wants; and ultimately to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the atonement of their sins against Him. In short, He had come to forgive them. To offer them mercy and thus life.
That, my friends, is the single greatest truth ever imparted to this world. Certainly, that, above all else, is worthy of a sign. And it is also worthy of your attention, your reflection, your consideration.
I hope that, like the shepherds of that first Christmas, you will take time to investigate this great matter (Luke 2:15) for yourself. If you do, I am confident that you too will come away from Christmas “glorifying and praising God” for all the things that you, like they, will have heard and seen.
The following are purported to be actual signs seen posted in today’s world…
In a Podiatrist's Office:
"Time wounds all heels."
**************************
On a Plumber's Truck:
"We repair what your husband fixed."
**************************
At a Tire Store:
"Invite us to your next blowout."
**************************
In a Non-Smoking Area:
"If we see smoke, we will assume that
you are on fire and take appropriate action."
**************************
At an Optometrist's Office:
"If you don't see what you're looking for,
then you've come to the right place."
**************************
On a Taxidermist's window:
"We really know our stuff."
**************************
On a Homeowner’s Fence:
"Salesmen welcome! Dog food is expensive!"
**************************
At a Car Dealership:
"The best way to get back on your feet
is to miss a car payment."
**************************
Outside a Car Exhaust Store:
"No appointment necessary. We hear you coming."
**************************
In a Veterinarian’s Waiting Room:
"Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!"
**************************
In a Restaurant Window:
"Don't stand there and be hungry;
come on in and get fed up."
**************************
In the Front Yard of a Funeral Home:
"Drive carefully. We'll wait."
**************************
Okay. The last one may have pushed the envelope just a bit. But you do have to appreciate the humor involved.
Signs, you see, are actually a part of our everyday life. They are commonplace. So much so that they tend to go unnoticed. Thus, advertisers look for creative ways to help a client stand out and get noticed. Hence the effectiveness of these simple but humorous signs.
I find it interesting that when Jesus came to be born into this world, He did so in the midst of the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It would have been so easy for this tremendous event to have been overlooked by the people of that busy time.
Therefore, God sent His angel to a group of shepherds, the most ordinary of people in that day, and had him announce to them that they would see a “sign” that would show them just Who the Savior was.
Luke 2:10-12 records the angel’s words: "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
What?! A babe, lying in a manger! Mangers are troughs, long low open containers from which livestock eat. Who puts newborn babies in mangers? The mere thought is incongruous. The absurdity of the notion makes it almost humorous. Thus, it immediately grabs our attention and holds it. It demands that we pause and consider what we have just encountered.
Of course, the answer to the question, “Who puts newborn babies in mangers?” is none other than God Himself. And He does it for the very reasons I have stated above. He wants to grab our attention, and to hold it. He wants us to pause and reflect and consider the significance of what we have just encountered.
And well we should. Because we will never encounter any greater paradox than this: that God chose to incarnate Himself. That He chose to come to the very people He had created and who had in turn sinned against Him, and to become one of them and to dwell among them. And that He did this in order to show them just Who God is, and just what God wants; and ultimately to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the atonement of their sins against Him. In short, He had come to forgive them. To offer them mercy and thus life.
That, my friends, is the single greatest truth ever imparted to this world. Certainly, that, above all else, is worthy of a sign. And it is also worthy of your attention, your reflection, your consideration.
I hope that, like the shepherds of that first Christmas, you will take time to investigate this great matter (Luke 2:15) for yourself. If you do, I am confident that you too will come away from Christmas “glorifying and praising God” for all the things that you, like they, will have heard and seen.