A few days ago I noticed a huge billboard that I had never seen before. Then a few days later I saw the same billboard in another location. The large billboards, in very large letters, simply read-- Jesus.
Both times I saw it I thought "There's no contact information!" I wasn't trying to crack myself up, but that's exactly what I thought. And then the analysis set in. "Did I mean that it doesn't tell you how to call for help or it doesn't tell you how to contact Jesus?" The truth is, before I had time to consider a number for a church or an agency, I actually thought, "It doesn't tell you how to contact Jesus."
In my experience, contacting Jesus is not difficult. For that matter, in my opinion, you can't keep from contacting Him. Most Christians call it prayer. I call it breathing. Physicists will tell you that you are breathing the same air that George Washington breathed. You are breathing the air that William Shakespeare breathed, and Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. You are breathing the air of Adam and Eve. You are breathing the same air that dinosaurs breathed. You are breathing the air that Jesus breathed. They all inhaled and exhaled oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide just like you do. Very few of the near limitless amount of atoms that make up these elements escape into the atmosphere. That means that these atoms of life are shared and recycled here on earth for as long as the earth exists. The atoms we breathe are circulated as long as the earth exists. Ubiquitous.
If you have ever read 100 words on mindfulness meditation, then you have read about the breath. Paying attention to your breathing is the central technique to quiet the mind and achieve inner solitude and peace. Besides the obvious fact that breathing keeps us alive, there are very many neurological reasons that simply noticing your breathing has such a profound impact on your psyche. The cumulative effect that counting the breaths has on the neurotransmitters that power your brain is more profound than the long-term effects of drug and alcohol abuse. The short-term may seem more satisfying, but the long-term is deadly. Another way of looking at this is to realize that the illegal drugs and alcohol that can destroy your life were never necessary in the first place. Neither were needed as a way to find lasting personal peace. With the exception of prescription drugs to correct biochemical imbalances, everything you need for finding peace of mind is in your breathing.
Something else that's going on with prayer is what's happening in and around your head. The trillions upon trillions of atoms in your brain bump into the atoms in your skull. Those atoms bump into the air around you. Those atoms are flung to kingdom come. Did you ever wonder why that person you just thought about this morning, who you have not thought about in years, calls you this afternoon? Or you get a card from them the next week? It's not metaphysics; it's just physics. Did you ever wonder why when you asked Jesus for help, it felt like the help was already there? Shouldn't prayer be at least as effective as wifi and 4G? Why should our cellphones have the corner on instant communication? "Yea though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil. For though art with me."
In the Christian New Testament, James 5:16 reads, "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." If you need to close your eyes and bow your head to feel connected to God, then by all means do so. But I want to suggest that you are already connected. Just start talking. If you don't know what to say then just breathe. The Biblical writer in Romans 8:26 says, "the Spirit helps us with our problems even when we don't know how to pray. The Spirit prays for us with groanings that we cannot even utter."
All over Chattanooga last year were billboards that simply read--Ubiquitous. There were sixty to be exact. Weeks later Coca-Cola claimed the boards and added some more information. Maybe in a few weeks I'll see that Jesus billboard again and it will read--Jesus, Call me anytime. Operators are standing by.
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