If you are familiar with Dairy Queen, you know their signature is to put a swirl on the top of their soft serve ice cream cones. That is true whether it is just the ice cream or it is a dipped cone. When our three girls were still very young, we didn’t have a lot of disposable income, so treats like ice cream were rare. However, my wife would still try to get them a cone from Dairy Queen every now and then. She would go to the drive-thru in our van with the girls buckled in their seats in the back. As the worker would hand the cones to my wife, she would always bite off the little swirl before handing it back to our daughters. Her justification for doing so was that she couldn’t afford another cone for herself and she didn’t want all those calories, so she just took a small bite off the three she bought for the girls.

Many years later, when our middle daughter was in high school and had her license, she decided to go get herself a cone from Dairy Queen. She came home and was amazed that it had a swirl on top!  She had seen it on the commercials, but thought it was just an advertising gimmick because none of the cones she had in her life before this point ever had a swirl on top! She didn’t have the full story. In between laughs, my wife confessed to what she had done.

I wonder how many people don’t have the full story when it comes to Jesus. They have heard of Him, but don’t really know who He is or what He has done for them. They base their opinion of Jesus on what they have seen in those who say they follow Him. Let that sink in. People outside the church will base their opinion of Jesus on what they see in His followers.

I always find it interesting when I talk to non-believers about their perception of Christians and the church. Many see us as judgmental people with a list of rules, which is unfortunately often an accurate description. Others see Christians as pretty good people, but they don’t know anything about what we believe. What can we do to make sure people get the whole story, including the swirl on top?

You and I have the best news there is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not holding our sins against us!  We need to share the reason for the hope that we have. Jesus has taken away our guilt, our punishment, and given us life now and life forever. That is a joyful thing. Is that evident in our living and speaking?

Listen to some of the advice that Paul gave to a young pastor.

2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

You and I need to make sure we know the message of God’s Word. And we need to let it influence, guide and direct the way we live. Give them the whole story about Jesus and His love. Including the swirl on top.

And just so you know, not too long ago I took Cheryl to a Dairy Queen and bit the top off her cone before I gave it to her. She was not pleased.