When our son Ezra joined our family after living his first five years in Africa, he became exposed to a lot of food he’d never eaten before. Like most parents, we had already dealt with picky eaters to a certain extent, so this wasn’t especially troubling. To move things along, we often enlisted our older son Knox to help us convince Ezra to take a “no, thank you” bite, the very minimum of trying a new and unwanted food.

I remember one evening when we introduced him to corn. He suspiciously regarded the pile of bright yellow nubs with complete disinterest, so Knox stepped in to offer his personal endorsement, scooping up a big fork-full of corn. Once he had chewed and swallowed his food, he remarked with exaggerated enthusiasm, “I loooove corn!” This incident happened about ten years ago, so I can’t recall if it was effective, but it has become a mantra we repeat most every time I serve corn.

Funnily enough, I was thinking about that memory when I read from the prophetic book of Zechariah last week. Amongst a lot of wild and often confusing visions, Zechariah is full of words of hope and restoration for those Jewish exiles who had returned to their homeland. The people were discouraged and often chose the wrong path, so God through Zechariah was reminding them of His promises and giving them clues about the Messiah to come. (I know what you’re thinking, “What does that have to do with corn?” Stick with me here, I’m getting to my point.)

When I came to Zechariah 8:23, this is what I read the Lord Almighty saying, “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’” The Lord was telling them that in the midst of their struggles and division and uncertainty, their godly lifestyles would be a shining example for the people around them. The “ten people from all languages and nations” refers to a complete group. The idea is that people from every walk of life would see God’s people and be drawn to them for His sake.

It brings to mind the image of someone on her knees, as low as she could be, and then Jesus walks by. She stretches out a tired hand to grab the edge of his robe, grasping as tightly as she can so she can get going in the right direction. It’s like the woman whose story is recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. She had been suffering for 12 years with a bleeding disease. It was ruining her life, so she went to Jesus, a man she’d heard was a miracle-worker. He walked by and she reached out.

Now comparing corn to Jesus is completely ludicrous, and I know that. But Knox was willing to overact his love of the yellow vegetable, hamming it up for comedy as much as to get his little brother to finish supper. But to make Jesus appealing, just like Mr. Rogers said to “try your best to make goodness attractive,” doesn’t mean we have to fake anything. We don’t have to spray paint the gospel gold or hot glue rhinestones all over it. We’re called to be godly not gaudy. Scripture doesn’t say, “They will know you are Christians by your political affiliations.” It doesn’t preach wealth and prosperity for believers, but instead calls for humility and dying to ourselves. John 13:35 says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” God’s Word tells us to love our enemies and strive to make peace.

When those of us who claim to follow Christ bemoan the news about churches closing their doors and the down-trending of Christianity in the U.S., we should stop and wonder what we’ve done with the true, core message of the gospel. Is it something the lost see as propaganda, pushing a certain worldly agenda or have we portrayed it for what it is—a lifeline to a miracle-worker?