It was probably less than a year ago that I discovered Bono, the head of the rock band U2, is a devout Christian. I was amazed to hear U2 close one of their concerts with Yahweh and an absolutely beautiful musical rendition of Psalm 40 (on YouTube...I wasn't there).
But still I was skeptical. After all, they weren't wearing the t-shirts.
You know the t-shirt, right? The "I am a Christian" t-shirt. In other words, U2 is not dubbed a Christian band and I'm assuming, because I've seen them on the likes of American Idol, that they don't hang with the Christian bands or the Christian speakers either. They're out doing their thing for packed, secular audiences.
Thus, we assume they are worldly.
It's easy to make assumptions like that, I suppose, when a musician or newscaster or actor or politician isn't taking the traditional Christian route.
But for that matter, Christ himself took a divergent path. In fact, He was often criticized for hanging with the wrong crowds, saying the wrong things, and not being religious enough. And yet He's the One we supposedly have chosen to follow.
If we're following Jesus on the path less traveled today, let's not be too surprised when we come upon fellow sojourners who aren't wearing the same t-shirt we are. Instead, let's delight in it. Be thankful that someone, while walking the narrow path, is waving to the crowd and beckoning others to come alongside, if they will.
Tomorrow Focus on the Family is releasing an interview between their president, Jim Daly, and Bono. I'll be listening. I thought you might want to, too.
focusonthefamily.com/bono
(this isn't a link, just the address you can go to Tuesday, June 25)
Meanwhile, you can get a taste of this interesting conversation from the video below.