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Outdoor Truths: Aiming Outdoorsmen Toward Christ Dec 19, 2013
We all like to be identified with certain things. Some people will drive nothing but a Ford – except for the Chevy guys who think Ford stands for Fix Or Repair Daily. Bow hunters are notorious for this as well. There are PSE people (like me) and there are others who will own nothing but a Mathews, Hoyt, Bear, or some other brand. In sports we have our favorite team. Where I live, one is either a Kentucky or Tennessee fan. When our team loses, we take it hard. It’s not any team; it’s our team. We lost. We’ll come back. We were robbed. Our identity comes with ownership. We also know that we want to be identified with certain people, groups, companies, or beliefs. But identity can also come from another direction. It is one thing for you and me to identify ourselves with something or someone, but it is another thing if that someone or something wants to be identified with us. For instance, let’s say that PSE calls you and says they want to give you $50,000 to shoot their bow. What they are saying in essence is they want to be identified with you. As you know, this happens all the time. This is how mega stars make a great portion of their money. They are contacted by a company who offers the star lots of cash if he or she will wear, use, or eat a certain product. The company believes that by identifying with the star, they will sell their product to other individuals who want to be just like that person. I am sure that any one of us would like to be on the receiving end of that call. Right?
This is what so intrigues me about Christmas and what makes Christianity so unique. God sent his own son into our world in order to identify with me! I didn’t pick him. He picked me! And You! And the reason he wanted to be identified with us is so that He might be able to sympathize with our pain, suffering, and temptation. And while every other religion depends on our identification with it, Christianity offers Jesus as the savior who identifies with us. He may not give you all the answers when it comes to your pain, but He can say, “I understand. I’ve been there. I know how you feel.”
You see, picking religions is not like picking a brand of trucks or bows. Instead it is like picking whether 2+2 or 2+3 is 4. There is a right and wrong answer. And when I weigh the evidence, not only do I find Jesus as the true answer for man’s dilemma, but I find that He is also the perfect fit for who I want to be identified with. And that is the best identification – when both want to be identified with each other.

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