GUN SEASON HAS COME

This time of year, orange fills the woods. It confirms gun season has come. I’ve sat in many places, thinking I was the only one around, only to scan the horizon with my binoculars to discover an orange vest in a tree closer than I wanted. I can remember one time while hunting in Muhlenberg, Kentucky, staying in a hotel, and nearly every single occupant either leaving early that morning or coming in late that evening, with an orange hat and vest on. It was a hotel from heaven.

Years ago, fish and game commissions determined that orange was both a color that deer cannot distinguish and one that stands out markedly to humans. Shortly afterwards, wearing some form of orange became the law.

Some states require only hats, some only vests, and some both. And the nuances of when it’s worn have changed over the years. Sometimes you are allowed to take it off once you are in a stand or blind, and sometimes it must always be on. There is no way to determine how many lives this hunting requirement has saved. It makes no audible sound. It is simple in its design. It is standard in its application. It comes in sizes to fit anyone. And it makes the same statement whether it is worn by the unknown or famous, or by the extrovert or introvert.

When I think about the statement the orange vest makes, I make an application to how I think one’s Christian life is best lived out. It is best lived out by letting it make its own statement. It’s best when it is seen and not heard. It’s best when it is just a part of our everyday lives and not something in addition to. It’s best when its simplicity and subtleness stand out. It’s best when it shines like a light on a hill. It’s best when others see its value and even its safety, for themselves, and want it.

I cringe at forced faith. Jesus did not come to force himself on anyone. He came to reveal what we didn’t know or understand about the Father. By his own words, He said he didn’t come into the world to condemn it, but to save it. And the way He would do that would be by Him putting on my sin and by me putting on His righteousness. Much like my orange vest.