It says so right on the license plate.  Washington is the Evergreen State.  The assumption of towering fir trees and snow-capped mountains is richly rewarded as you head east on I-90 from Seattle.  The climb up and over Snoqualmie Pass offers spectacular view after spectacular view, the Evergreen State expectations not unmet.

But then you reach the other side of the pass and towering firs are replaced by sagebrush and wild grasses, the snow-capped mountains with plateaus and bluffs of stark volcanic rock. This is a view from the east side of the Cascades in what they call the Columbia River Basin.

Our son Christopher and his family live in Ephrata, Washington.  The main street in town is Basin Street, a reminder that Ephrata is right in the middle of the Columbia River Basin.  This past Monday Becky and I and Katie and Christopher and the kids drove a half an hour or so out of town for a hike along some of the bluffs above the Columbia River. The stark landscape is spectacular in its own way.  It’s not what you think of when you think of the Evergreen State.

When I posted some photos from our day along the river, one of my friends asked, “Is this really Washington?”  It’s an honest question.  All the cars and trucks in Ephrata drive around with their “Evergreen State” license plates and there’s not an evergreen to be seen.  But, yes, it’s really Washington.

It’s not unfair to expect photos from Washington to picture snow-capped mountains and towering fir trees. The state license plate asks us to expect nothing less.

I knew what to expect when we traveled to Ephrata last week.  We’d been there last summer and over the years we’d been through the Columbia River Basin any number of times.  It’s not the Washington postcards and the Chamber of Commerce lead you to expect, however. But it really is Washington.

Our postcard expectations of how a Christian ought to look prove us wrong over and over again.  Yes, he’s a Christian, despite how he looks. She’s a faithful believer, and wears those clothes?  And sometimes the most “Christian” appearance leads to a trap of deception as our expectations betray us. Wolves in sheep’s clothing, Jesus called it.

If all you had to go on was a Washington license plate, you’d expect nothing but snow-capped mountains and towering firs.  Once you’ve been over Snoqualmie pass you know there’s a lot more to Washington than what you see on the postcards.

If all you had to go on was stereotypes, you’d expect Christians to be, well, self-righteous and hypocritical or saints without personality or emotion.  Once you’ve spent some time in the church and have allowed yourself to be known even as you get to know the ragtag band of brothers and sisters who love and are loved by Christ, you know there’s a lot more to Christians than what you see in the movies.

Our friends and family members may have false assumptions about who we are in the church.  Why not invite them in sometime and help them see there’s a lot more to Christians than what you see in the movies.

See you Sunday.