I Hiked the Entire Appalachian Trail

“I Hiked the Entire Appalachian Trail,” read the back of hoodie.

I was very impressed.  An attorney in a congregation I served is still in the process of doing that; he and a colleague go every year and hike another section.  Their long-range goal is to have covered the entire distance by the time they’re a certain age.

So I understood the accomplishment this sweatshirt represented, and was formulating how to express congratulations to the wearer.

But then I got a little closer.

I saw the tiny letters in the middle of the back of the hoodie: “width of the.”

Up close, the sweatshirt proclaimed, “I Hiked the Entire width of the Appalachian Trail.”

As I caught up with the person, I was laughing and simply said, “Great shirt, man.”

A moment later, it hit me: what that shirt did with the Appalachian trail, I’ve done with my Christian faith.  Maybe you have, too.  There’s one message that gets projected loudly, but up close things are different.

The width of the Appalachian Trail shirt was funny.

Misrepresentation of Christ is not.