To Google I went in search of a stuffed animal. However, I did not find any. It seems Bill Watterson wanted to keep his comic strip a comic strip, and did. What I did find was an article about A Tale of Two Kitties.
Never in a million years would I have ever complained about a stuffed animal being made from a cartoon or comic strip until I read the article. It helps me to understand what I've heard some say about C.S. Lewis not wanting his stories put into a movie format. While, I'm glad they did, there is a sense of mystery and imagination that will ever be gone.
At the same time, I have always been frustrated with the scads and scads of Christian trinkets that are continually overtaking the Christian bookstores. I will admit, a few of the things are very nice. But the ugly and gaudy things definitely outnumber the nice. Even more, the person who created Testamints needs taken out behind the woodshed.
Please note that I am not standing on the soapbox pointing fingers with this. I am just as guilty of this as the next guy. I have tried to entertain with some of the things I've done in ministry, rather than pushing to be real and honest about what we are to be as Christians. I've followed the fads. Even more, I own a bobble head Jesus. It was a gift from my Sr. Minister. It was meant for a laugh. Now, today, it is a reminder of how we've lost the true understanding of who Christ is.
May the God of all creation show us grace with how we've sold the church. May we learn to focus on living holy lives and loving others and shy away from the glitz and glamour of what the world has told the church it needs to be. May we think theologically about our billboards, our flashy mailers, our catchy sermon series, our fancy $30,000 church signs, and our ostentatious buildings. May our walk with God as his people and our desire to live out the words of his Son reshape our very existence. May it change every breath and every step.
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