I encountered Jesus, or more accurately marketing efforts designed to make me think about Jesus, in two unexpected places in recent weeks.
The first came while traveling between Texas and Oklahoma. Two billboards stacked one above the other carried a bold message:
- Jesus Christ: Either He Is or He Ain’t.
- How Much Are You Willing to Bet?
Instead of title case, everything was rendered in ALL CAPS, as if certainty itself required volume.
Later, driving through the Dallas – Fort Worth metroplex, I found myself behind a pickup truck with JESUS CHRIST stretched boldly across the rear window. The name JESUS was in red letters, making it impossible to miss.
Jesus Christ on the Highway
I suppose you can encounter Jesus anywhere, even on the highway.
Still, something about the messages left me uneasy. Not because they mention Jesus, but because of how they present him.
The Jesus I know doesn’t ask people to bet on him; he invites them to follow him. Jesus calls those who follow his Way to lead lives of compassion, justice, and love of neighbor.
He Is or He Ain’t
I’ve never asked anyone whether Jesus “is or ain’t,” and I don’t expect that I ever will.
What feels more faithful and more helpful are questions like
- Who is my neighbor?
- Who is Jesus shaping me to become?
- Where am I being called to love more deeply?
For more posts in this occasional series, check out
- We Could Wreck the World (March 2025)
- Turning Your Vehicle Into a Religious Billboard (October 2024)
- Lent, License Plates, & Christian Nationalism (February 2023)
- It’s Lent Again (March 2022)
- Honk if You are Holy (May 2019)