Christ In You

I'm not sure I should be posting this on social media, given I might start a backlash with unintended consequences. But as a Christian, I feel we should acknowledge when others do something right in a world that frowns on displays of Christian faith.

I'd like to give a public shout out to the entire staff working today at Whataburger. It's been a long time since I've eaten there, much less dined in, but today I had an awesome experience. From the time we walked in, the place was clean, the cashier and server polite and friendly as they took our order and brought it to us at our table. Any other day, this wonderful service might have gone unmentioned- chalked up to another meal at another fast food restaurant- until I heard what was playing on the radio as I sat there munching on my Double Meat Whataburger Jr. CHRISTIAN music! I listened with half an ear to the first song as it caught my attention, listened to the second- thought it sounded like Britt Nicole, Francesca Battistelli, or Barlow Girl,I wasn’t sure, but I WAS listening. To the third, and to the fourth, which by now, I knew it wasn’t a fluke. WOW!

As I sat there, floored, I knew I had to say something.

How could I possibly let an opportunity to acknowledge this business for being brave enough to praise God pass? If I myself wasn’t brave enough to speak of their courage, who would be?

Making sure I had my receipt before we left, we gathered our trash and as we were going out the door I let the cashier know how great the music was. But I didn’t stop there. As soon as I got home I called the Whataburger 800 number. I’m pretty sure I surprised the operator when I let him know I wasn’t calling to complain, but to compliment. To give praise to a business that wasn’t afraid to testify of God’s love and salvation by way of the soft sounds that drifted through the overhead speakers. I posted a brief snippet of my thanks on Twitter and now here on this blog.

Now, I don’t know the title of all the songs that were playing or the names of their singers, but I do know that the same song that was playing in the restaurant as I was leaving, was playing on 93.7 WDJC on my car when I cranked it- Jeremy Camp, Christ In Me.

“So come and empty me 

So that it's you I breathe

I want my life to be 

Only Christ in me 

So I will fix my eyes

'Cause you're my source of life 

I need the world to see

That it's Christ in me”

So tell me, in this day and age when prophecy is being fulfilled before our very eyes, when Christian faith and values are being persecuted at an astonishing rate, can others see Christ in you?

I could in Whataburger and its employees.

Was it a showy display of God’s power like Moses parting the Red Sea, a remarkable sermon like John the Baptist as he prepared the world for the Word made flesh, or a wondrous event like the disciples casting out demons, healing physical bodies, and raising people from the dead? No. It was a small and understated action that I doubt many even knew was taking place. But nonetheless, it was powerful, impactful, and it was amazing.

In the words of Martin Luther King, jr. “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way”

Today, Whataburger did a small thing in a great way!