Hello,
Went to Office
Max in Davenport, Iowa today in search of an inexpensive computer desk for my
folks who have just moved into an independent living facility, and we are here
to help them get situated in their new digs.
The room in which they have their computer is small and is filled with
many other things that they were not able to downsize, so the computer desk
needed to be minimal in size, yet practical in nature.
Having checked
several other stores whose inventory was too fancy or too limited, we stumbled
our way into Office Max. Perusing their
selection I stumbled upon a desk that met every one of our needs….small,
practical, and functional …..all for $149.00.
Looking at the price tag we noticed a notation on it that if we wanted
the wood (fake wood) one, rather than the glass one, we could have it for
$44.00. Surely a mistake on the price
tag, so when we found a service person who looked it up said, “Let’s go see.” We walked back toward the computer desks, and
on the way there, we come upon the wood one, and walking up to it, sure enough….$44.00…..no….wait….as
we got closer we saw a red line through the $44.00 and a red $25.00 next to
it. Could this be correct? “Guess so,” said the sales person.
What a deal! So, without even asking my folks, we bought
it for them. Took it to their apartment
and they, too, were amazed at the deal we had just acquired. As we opened the packaging, I was ready to
find myself all too aware as to the reason for the “deal” we had just made…..faulty
design, cheap materials, defective. But
no….as we put it together, the pieces were all there, the design was sleek, and
the structure was sound. Everything we
wanted. Every thing we needed. Everything we had hoped for….and all for
$25.00.
What if it had
been free? A deal even more amazing,
given the truth of the product’s promise.
Free…that is the deal that God presents to us….free…everything we want…
everything we need….everything we could ever hope for….and all for… free! “For God so love the world….” (John 3:16,17)…
See what love the Father has given us that we should be called children of
God. And that is what we are.” (1 John 3:1)
Could this be correct… free?
Guess so, says the Bible.
The cynical side
of me keeps on telling me to just wait.
Wait and the time will come when
I will find out that I have been had, that it really was too good to be
true. Is there a God?... A God who in
the infinitive expanse of the universe would be so drawn to me that that God
would spare nothing to embrace me in an eternal grasp? A God whose heart is so consumed with love
for me that that God doesn’t wait for me to reach out to God, but stretched his
arms across a cross that gathered me in…the last thing on his mind being, “what
if they don’t accept my love?”?
But day after day
as I live in the free grace of God, just as my folks live with a $25.00
computer desk, I find myself moving from the fear that I may have been had to
the joy of finding out that I have been part of a deal that no one would ever
believe. Moving from worrying about being conned, to settling
in the richness of grace that even Bill Gates doesn’t know. Moving from “how can this be?”, to “this is
it!”
Who would have
ever believed that a computer desk that meets everything you were looking for
could be bought for $25.00? I do! Who could ever believe that a God that meets
everything and more that you could be looking for could be banked upon for
free? I do!
Grace is amazing!
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace, (ggap)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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