1 Timothy 1:12-14
I’m so grateful to Christ Jesus for making me adequate to do this work. He went out on a limb, you know, in trusting me with this ministry. The only credentials I brought to it were invective and witch hunts and arrogance. But I was treated mercifully because I didn’t know what I was doing—didn’t know Who I was doing it against! Grace mixed with faith and love poured over me and into me. And all because of Jesus.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
This morning, I went to a garage sale… hoping to find some bargains for my little niece and nephews. Sure enough, I spotted a big box of VHS tapes for children, alongside an equally large box of DVD children’s movies. The box of VHS tapes said 50¢ each… DVDs were $2.00 per movie. I checked with my niece to see which ones her children did/did not have, and I selected 10 VHS tapes and 5 DVDs. I bought one other item for $1 and continued shopping.
When I paid for my items, the clerk said, “That will be $21.” I mentally “did the math” again and looked in my sack, and then I said to the lady conducting the sale… “I think there has been a mistake. I bought 10 of the VHS tapes and 5 DVDs, so how does that come to $21?” The lady explained that VHS tapes were $1 each, and DVDs were $2. I said, “Oh… the sign on the box said that VHS tapes were only 50¢ each.” Her response was, “Well, that’s not what it’s supposed to say… VHS tapes are $1 each.” I was in a hurry and didn’t want to cause a further scene… after all, my children are worth an extra $5 and will enjoy the movies immensely. But I felt a little disappointed that this was her response.
I barely got to my car and turned the key when I saw the woman energetically waving for me to come back. I turned off the motor, got out of my car, and she said, “Come back! We’re going to refund you $5. That’s only fair.” And she handed me a $5 bill. I was relieved that she did the right thing… not so much for myself as for her. And later as I read this scripture passage, I thought… this is how things go with God much of the time.
We are the “seller” who overcharged and did not apologize for it… at least initially. And God is not pleased with us for these actions… but He continues to love us and offer us grace. I was not prepared to say, “I’ll never shop at this woman’s garage sale again because she overcharged me.” For one thing, it WAS a GARAGE SALE, after all! But more than this, I was ready to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe those were not her tapes… it looked like a multi-family event. Maybe she really needed that extra $5. This overcharge wasn’t going to signal the end of the world. And a lot of the things we do that are invective (abusive), arrogant, or less than upright won’t be of major significance in the scheme of things. Still, they are not the behaviors of true disciples. They displease God greatly… yet He loves us and meets our needs anyway.
I don’t know about you, but I am a work in progress… and this is the key! I make mistakes… I falter… but I keep working on moving forward. And God notices. He doesn’t give me a free pass… He doesn’t excuse me when I disappoint Him… but He loves me in spite of my shortcomings and failures. I don’t have to beat myself up… I don’t have to wallow in self-loathing or live in turmoil. I can have peace and contentment because each and every day, I am striving to do better… to be more like Jesus Christ…to mess up less and make more forward progress!
I may be the person who overcharges someone at a garage sale tomorrow. Sadly, I may snap at someone and/or say something I regret. My decisions may not be 100% accurate… and neither may those of my friends and acquaintances. But with God’s help, I will keep trying to do better… and God will extend His grace to me as a result. In return, He expects me to offer this grace and peace to others along the way. And He will do the same for you! Do you know Who has your back these days? Do you know Who you are dealing with? Is your goal to be adequate to do Jesus’ work… and to operate in His peace and grace each and every day? Isn’t it time you made this a priority?
©2013 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment