The Bungee Cord. 7-18-23

Hello,

My wife and I are looking for a new car. We are ready to venture our way into the electric car world, or at least the hybrid version of it. So, a couple of weeks ago, we went shopping.

I am always a bit leery of what I am about to encounter when entering a car dealership, because I think that when the salesperson sees me, he sees the “sucker” that is written across the front of my church. What do I know about cars? Not much. What do I know about the tricks of the trade that salespeople know to get me to buy a car for as much as they want me to pay? Not much. What do I know about all the gizmos and gadgets that are in the car that I don’t really need but they, like a worm on a hook, lure me into wanting to buy it? Not much.

Some people like the challenge of negotiating and playing the chess game of sales. I do not. Some people like play a game of chicken with the salesperson and to see who will blink first. I do not. Some people see it to be almost a sport to master and enjoy the thrill of victory. I do not.

I am glad that cars tend to last many years, because I really dread the feeling of entering a bull fighting ring to face the matador/salesperson.

It seems to me that the very reasons that I do not like car shopping are some of the same reasons that people do not like to go to church. They fear the salesperson. They fear that if/when they walk into the church, they will be the target of someone trying to sell them something that they have to buy into. Someone who has learned the tricks of the trade of sales. Someone who will direct their eyes to gizmos and gadgets that will lure and hook them. Someone who sees them as one of a sales number that needs to be met.

And it may be true that there are those who await people to walk into their churches are such salespeople, but if they are I don’t think that they are following Jesus’ example, because as I read the Bible, Jesus was not a salesperson. Jesus was a talesperson. He, the Word of God, came to put flesh to the story of God’s love for all people. Every word that he spoke, every deed that he did, and every embrace that he gave told the story of divine compassion and mercy. When he took his place on the cross, was sealed in the grave, and then left death and sin behind in that grace, Jesus embodied the story of a God whose love for those who bore God’s image was so great that he would let nothing stand in the way of that love. You see, Jesus never came to sell anything. Jesus came to tell something.

And that is what I have tried to do, as a pastor and as a writer of this Bungee Cord. I have tried to be a talesperson, telling the story of this heart-driven God. A God who doesn’t see you or me as numbers in a sales quota, but a God whose heart aches for you connects with you with unconditional love. I know that love changes people’s lives and even gives them life, and so I see myself as one who gets to tell you about the love of God, a talesperson. I have nothing to sell, I only have something amazing to tell.

Thanks for listening.

Have a great week,

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

Like

Comment

Share