Well,
I might have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night! With my lightning quick mind I figured that
God was trying to make a point, so I sat back again and considered “Hats!” What are they? What are they for? I had never been one that enjoyed wearing a
hat. I would wear them while playing
baseball or in inclement weather, but they just always felt a little awkward
for me. As I grew older though… the
forces of nature took over and I have been forced to wear a hat outside now just
to protect my head from getting fried on hot sunny days or keep it warm during
the cold winter season!
I
am still particular about what hat I wear though. I will only wear hats that have an emblem on
them that I can comfortably associate with.
When I worked outside in Oklahoma my hat became my best friend! It would always surprise co-workers when I
would take it off when I came inside. As
one of the cashiers commented, she always thought of me as a “hat guy!” For the first year in Oklahoma I proudly wore
my Sonoma State College cap that my kids had bought me to commemorate my
graduation from that school here in northern California. It not only gave me an association with the
school but it gave me a link back to California some 1800 miles away from where
I was!
I
had to retire the hat when the navy blue color faded to an off white and our Home
Depot decided to enforce the company standard that employees had to wear
company hats or those of our vendors.
From there I switched to a hat of one of our tooling suppliers and
eventually bought a white Home Depot hat that I still have today. I was never one to don a hat that had some
funny saying on it or one, once again, that I could not find an association
with. When I returned to California I
was able to find an official collegiate Cal Bears hat that I could afford at a
local Walmart. I had always wanted to
get one in Oklahoma, but they were hard to find and very expensive if you did
happen across one.
I
had followed the University of California at Berkeley Bear football team back
in the 1980’s but had kind of lost contact with them over the years. The main reason I had wanted to get the hat
was because it said “Cal” on it and I
wanted people to know my connection with my home state! One day when I was out grocery shopping, a
women stopped me in the isle and commented on my hat and then began asking me
if I thought that they were going to win their next game against some school
that I had never heard of! Needless to
say I was “busted.” After trying to answer around the question I
finally had to toss in the towel and let the lady know that I wasn’t really keeping
up on the team. She gave me “the look,” turned and walked away!
That
incident really bothered me. Here I was
making a personal connection with the school by wearing the hat, but yet knew
nothing about the current status of it or its sports program. From there I made a point to get on my
computer, pull up their web site and get re-acquainted with what was going
on! I now have a Cal app on my phone and
stay current on their football team standings.
I even catch a game on TV when possible.
What
does this all have to do with the name of Jesus? Well, as my hats connect me with something
that I associate with, as Christians we should be “wearing” the hat of Jesus wherever we go. He should be the main one that we associate
with and should be proud to let our colors show!
Our
association with Him should not be like mine was when I wore the Cal hat
without any knowledge of what was happening with the school or their
teams. Our connection should be
up-to-date and vital to our everyday lives.
It should be one that we can knowledgably share with anyone who
asks. I would not want to have someone
come up to me in the store and ask me about Jesus and then not know what to
say! 2 Corinthians 3:6 says that He “hath made us to be able ministers of the new
testament; not of the letter but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the
spirit giveth life” (Contemporary
English Version) He has imparted to us
His ability to share His life giving Good News to our world, but it is up to us
to study His word and know it’s contents so that we can intelligently and
lovingly share it.
So,
what hat are you going to wear today?
Are you ready to make a good showing for Him? Remember our association with Him “giveth life!” Let your expression carry that promise as you
rub elbows with those all around you!
Have a great weekend. Stay in
tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What
am I expecting TO SHARE today?”
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