I am sure you have seen them adorning the bumper or back window of cars. The ones that proclaim that Christians are not perfect, just forgiven and Jesus is my co-pilot. While I appreciate the sentiment, let me just say that while yes, it is true Christians are not perfect and I thank God that we are forgiven of our sins, we need to strive to be better. Paul addressed this issue in Romans.
What shall we say then?
1 Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
Romans 6:1-7 NASB
2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
And as far as Jesus being the co-pilot is just wrong. The co-pilot is there to help in emergencies or take over when the pilot is in need of a break. What He is not is in charge.
Jesus should be the pilot and we are not even the co-pilot – we are passengers on the plane of life. Going when and where the Lord directs. It may be a small matter to you, but in my mind these bumper stickers express inaccurate and maybe even harmful theology. We should not take advantage of the grace of God that has forgiven us of our sins but rather strive to honor God by living in obedience to His commands. And while we all want to be in charge of our life, we are far better off if we let God have the controls not some of the time but all of the time. And as a reminder if you have “A Honk If You Love Jesus,” sticker don’t get upset when people honk at the stop light.