Appalachian Trail

 

I have a new sticker on my computer that is a little misleading.  It reads “AT” (see picture), which is the logo of the Appalachian Trail, the longest footpath in the world: 2,200 miles long.  Now, I haven’t hiked all 2,200 miles, but last week I did hike one of the steepest of those 2,200 miles, so I bought the sticker.  Years ago, Margaret H. was battling cancer in Nashville at Vanderbilt Hospital, so I bought a tee shirt with “Vanderbilt Medical” on it to remind me to pray for Margaret.  But twice, a total stranger asked me, “Did you go to Vanderbilt Medical School?”  Of course, I said that I hadn’t, but I began to think: what if someone in Walmart had a heart attack and one of those strangers remembered the Vanderbilt doctor looking for coffee on aisle 5?!  I would have to begin chest compressions immediately.  NOT!  So I gave the tee shirt to Goodwill.  Hey, are you a real Christian, or just a pretend Christian.  When someone calls you out on your religion, are you proud to be called a follower of Jesus Christ, or do you just have the tee shirt and the sticker?  Think about it.  Discipleship calls for commitment, not just a tee shirt or a sticker.  Luke 14:33, “… whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”  Hey, put God first, and you’ll never be sorry that you did.