Do YOU get the message?

OKAY, OKAY…I GET THE MESSAGE

“My grandma went to Costa Rica and all I got was this lousy T-shirt!” I’m the grandma who went there on a mission trip. Thankfully little Sheridan, our granddaughter in California, can’t say more than a few baby words or this might have been her response.

Although Disney used screen printed T-shirts as a form of marketing in the 70’s it was only when designer Katharine Hamnett in the 1980’s began putting slogans and designs on T-shirts that messaging in this manner became popular. Hamnett’s messages were mostly humorous or ironic.


When Charlie ran unsuccessfully for Bleckley Co. Commissioner back in the 90’s our whole family was on the T-shirt bandwagon, promoting his candidacy. I still wear that old campaign T-shirt, reminding myself from time to time, that God sure knew what was best by sparing Charlie from all the stress of politics.

Since the turn of the 21st century there has been an even greater popularity of T-shirts with political and social statements. If you go to Google you’ll find over 200,000 websites for political T-shirts. Knowing how many political messages are out there literally makes one’s head spin.

In our recent presidential elections we saw a slew of T-shirts sporting messages like, “Change you can believe in” or how about the pig with lipstick that Palin supporters wore?

Although we didn’t hear about it on any of the news media, the rescued Chilean miners were also sporting T-shirts with a message. The 33 miners who had been trapped for 69 days, 2300 feet below the earth’s surface, emerged in relatively good condition from their horrendous ordeal.

In all the excitement of the rescue hardly anyone noticed the miners were all wearing crème-colored T-shirts that bore a message. Since the T-shirts were dirty and covered with some type of harness, those of us who had been glued to the TV didn’t pay much attention to the words written in Spanish on their shirts.

A discerning observer noticed the writing on the shirts and deciphered the message. On the front were the words, “Gracias Senor!” (Thanks to God!) On the back an expanded version of the thank you to God was written. It read: “Thanks to God! In whose hands are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also.” This was a quote from Psalm 95:4 in the Bible. The observer recorded the rescue effort, shared the translation and posted it on YouTube.

God did an amazing thing down in the heart of the earth. The ministry of the late Dr. Adrian Rodgers was instrumental in supplying religious literature to the miners. I’m not sure who the supplier of the T-shirts was, but the miners were certainly proud to wear them. Thanks to God went up from the miners and from millions of others who were involved and who watched the rescue.

On Oct. 24 the thirty-three miners and six of the rescuers were given a heroes’ welcome at the national palace in Santiago, Chile by President Sebastian Pinera. On Oct. 28 a few of the miners were selected to come to the White House to receive a commendation from President Obama. One day they will all stand before God in heaven and I think there just might be a “Well done,” from God for declaring Him before the world on their T-shirts.

Did I mention that there was one word on the sleeve of the miner’s T-shirts? That one word was JESUS! His name is above every name that is named in heaven above or in earth beneath; the name to which every knee shall one day bow and to which every tongue will confess that JESUS IS LORD! (Phil. 2)

Next time you go shopping, to a ball game, or to a social function, just notice the messages you see on T-shirts. Everyone is advertising something. Who or what are you advertising today? And if you have a Jesus T-shirt on, be sure your life is backing up what you’re advertising.

Follow Jerri on her blog at: www.jerrituck.blogspot.com