The Jesus Statue

The following is a story I heard from a pastor that visited our church last week:

A man was traveling around town one Saturday visiting various neighborhood garage sales. At one house, he came upon a two foot high statue of Jesus. He was immediately struck by the beauty of the statue and purchased it for ten dollars.

When he arrived home, he placed the statue of Jesus atop the entertainment center in the office. He had friends coming over later that day and didn't want to put it in the living room where they would see it.

His wife came home later that day and saw the statue. Now, she had a group of friends coming over to play cards and didn't want them to know about her Christian beliefs. She took the statue of Jesus and placed it in the spare bedroom.

Later that day, her teenage daughter came home and headed to the spare bedroom to set up a study area with some friends. She saw the statue of Jesus and didn't want her friends to know about her Christian beliefs. She took it downstairs and placed it in the basement.

Later in the day, the college-age son came home to hang out with his friends in the basement. Knowing his friends would make fun of the statue and his own Christian belief, the son placed the statue of Jesus in a hall closet.

The family's six-year old son watched as the statue of Jesus was moved throughout the house.

He said to his father: "Dad, I want to call a family meeting."

"Why son?" his father asked.

"Because," the son continued, "any family member can call a family meeting at any time."

So, the family gathered in the living room for the family meeting.

The percocious six-year old stood in front of his family. He said: "I only have one question."

"What are you going to do about Jesus?"

This short story is an excellent reminder about how we live our lives.

Do we shuffle our beliefs from room to room to hide them away from the world? Do we turn our Christian lives on and off when we encounter different situations or different groups of people?

Shouldn't Jesus rest upon the mantle of our heart for all to see?