A Surprise

So I'm driving home from work today, doing my normal commute, when out of nowhere this huge black SUV rides up so close to my rear that all I see are headlights.  Apparently, my going anywhere from 5-7 miles over the posted speed limit still isn't fast enough for this particular individual, who then proceeds to swerve into the oncoming traffic lane, flying by me doing at least 70 in a 55.  Though, to her credit, she slows enough to keep pace with me just long enough to give me the finger, as well as a few made-up gesticulations of her own, etc etc.  As if all this isn't enough, as metaphorical icing on my commuting cake, when she promptly cuts me off (directly ahead of me now, keep in mind)...her license plate reads:

BLVNHIM

All sarcasm aside (at least for this sentence) for those possibly not familiar with deciphering American license plate jargon, that particular masterpiece is meant to be read "Believe in Him."  Herein lies my problem. 

So, this person is claiming to be a Christian?  This young lady is telling the world (at least the world directly behind her in traffic) that she is "BLV'ing N HIM" yet her actions to me on the way home prove drastically otherwise.  

Hypocrisy is nothing new to the Church.  It bleeds like a Sharpie through an unsuspecting shirt pocket through much of the NT.  In fact, many of Paul's most important addresses to his early congregation center around this issue.  Paul writes his letter to the Galatians because they are abandoning their authentic faith in Christ under the influence of the Judaizers.  Having begun with the "grace of Christ," they are now "turning to a different gospel" (1:6 NIV).  Having started with the Spirit, they are living by "human effort" (3:3).

True faith is not "easy believism"--a superficial acknowledgment that the Gospel is true without any personal commitment.  Paul later writes: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (2:20).  Genuine faith, then, involves a comprehensive investment of oneself in Christ.  My traffic surprise on the way home this afternoon just serves to "drive home" this very important point...