I Wrote "RETURN OR DIE" on a Pencil In Middle School

When I was in middle school I loaned pencils to classmates and seldom got them back.

So as a joke one day, on the tiny side of a pencil I wrote, “RETURN OR DIE.”

My friend, also trying to be funny, gave the pencil to the teacher.

I then became terrified of getting into trouble!

I wasn’t a kid who EVER got into trouble in school, but I knew that certain kinds of jokes were no joke in a school environment.

Thankfully, I didn’t get into trouble. Nothing happened. Hooray!

It was just a juvenile joke, but now as an adult, those three words seem to beg for heavy interpretation:

"Return or die."

The sobering thoughts it can bring to the mind of the believer are endless. 

And unlike the pencil joke, they are no laughing matters.

Return to the confessional or remain spiritually dead.

Like the prodigal son.

"...for this son of mine was dead and is alive again..." (Luke 15:24 NRSVCE)

Maybe those three words could be an impactful heading for church bulletins or social media posts when listing confession times…

"Return or Die."

It can’t hurt.

Unlike the pencils that never made their way back to me, may we always bring our hearts back to our Lord.