I was struck by how simple the message of this mountain in Niland, CA was. Here is this huge piece of art and the only words around are; “God is Love”, “Jesus Loves you, you love Jesus”, “Repent and Believe in Jesus.” A lot of signs that just said “Bible” or “Acts 2 - 42”. It was all done out of paint just caked onto the side of a hill. The hill was in the middle of nowhere. It was actually really slippery to walk on. It was a bit tacky but yet it struck me as profound.

Maybe the man who made this is a prophet. Living in the wilderness and proclaiming the simplicity of the message that Jesus came to bring: God loves us, repent and believe in Jesus.

I love this message and I want to live it. I would love to live the simplicity of this message. Often times my theology or my desire for nuance gets in the way of this simple message. I want to break down the word repent and talk through it, explain it, and make it sound more like the “God is love” piece of this message. Yet we must change our ways and walk with Jesus. It really is a simple message that is hard to live out.

Here is this prophet lives in the middle of nowhere who paints the side of a hill and lives in a trailer. This place is famous and people travel from all over to see it. The message is simple, loud, and clear. Even if, in my opinion, the place is a bit tacky the message is true and millions will hear of this message because this man painted the side of a hill. A monument to monumental love.

Salvation Mountain is proof that Jesus uses the weak things of this world to shame the wise. This guy who didn’t start a church, didn’t take a mission trip, might not even be a good guy and yet God’s message of love and how to find Jesus is crystal clear and super simple. It is beautiful.