Hope 4 Today: Influence Culture by Staying Connected to GodSample

What’s Your Brand?

The world today is brand crazy. Designer labels and symbols are everywhere. We are so familiar with some brands that we only have to see a logo to know what brand the tennis shoe is or where the cup of coffee is from. 

A brand is defined as the story that surrounds the name of a person, place or product. In our society, Christians are associated with the cross which represents the story of Jesus. Years before, the early church was associated with the symbol of a fish because Jesus urged His followers to be “fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

God is a brand in our culture today. He, like all brands, has values associated with Him.

A brand also represents the values of the company or organization, those things it stands for like integrity, responsibility, community, innovation. As followers of Jesus, what we value represents God’s brand to unbelievers. God guides us in how we should portray His brand through scripture, such as The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 and later when Jesus admonished His disciples in Mark 12:30-31. We are to love God fully with our heart, energy, thought and strength, and to love others as we love ourselves. 

Jesus said that when we do that, our lives will abound with the fruit of His spirit and God will be known for the joy that flows out of us, the peace that subdues uncertainty around us, the patience that endures through trials and the kindness that motivates our actions. 

His brand will shine through by our lives of virtue, our faith that prevails, our gentle hearts and an unnatural strength of spirit. Nonbelievers will see a true picture of Jesus etched in our lives because ultimately God’s brand is the expression of Jesus living fully in us.

What do people think of when they think of you? Are you a good representation of God’s brand? Make it a life goal that people will see Jesus living in you.