Don't get the Walmart Jesus

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

I woke up yesterday morning and we had a tree down. It snowed about 4" of heavy wet stuff and the trees were leafing out. There were lines down across the road, so we had a snow day yesterday. 

My home is in the country, so it is peaceful and quiet, well most of the time anyway, unless the kids and grandkids are here then all bets are off. Today the kids and grandkids aren't here, so it is very peaceful with the snow blanketing the ground and falling from the sky (where else would it fall from?). With the peace and quiet. I began to ruminate (I like the word ruminate; it is just fun to say.) on Sunday's sermon. Matt our pastor was talking about intrinsic value vs. attributed value. Intrinsic value (true value) never loses its worth, it is always worth more than what you paid for it. Attributed value, or market value can and often does lose its worth after you buy it. New cars are a great example of "attributed value". He went on to talk about buyer's remorse and wishing he had not bought certain things. While the things in his life that have intrinsic value, he has never regretted buying, getting, coming into relationship with. 

I probably would have gotten more out of the message if I wasn't cracking jokes about things like the "free" Lexus, or half the stuff I get at Walmart. Chaplains are weird ducks, just say-in. The person I was joking with was another chaplain. Evidently, we are not allowed to sit together anymore.

Anyway, I was ruminating on the sermon and having a real Bonhoeffer moment, he wrote The Cost of Discipleship, a book about the price you pay to follow Christ. While following Jesus is not free and doesn't feel like a bargain when you are going through a particularly difficult situation, a relationship with Jesus is an intrinsic value and never loses its worth.  

Don't get fooled into the Walmart Jesus were anything goes, and you don't have any spiritual growth. I am pretty sure you will have buyer's remorse in the end if you do.

We are in what we call "Passion week", the week in-between Palm Sunday and Easter. You know Easter, the holiday where we celebrate Christ's victory over death and the gift of everlasting life. We celebrate this amazing event by hiding eggs and having a bunny hop around (You just can't make this stuff up. We are a weird bunch). 

I can't tell you how many times God has asked me to do hard things. While I always end up doing what he asks (the story of my friend Joshua comes to mind) I, in most cases, throw a hissy fit because I don't want to. I say things, "It's too hard." or "It is too scary." just talking with you about this reminds me of the poem footprints in the sand, a poem that tells the story about two sets of footprints (when Jesus was walking with the person) and one set of footprints (where the person thought they were alone, and told Jesus so) Jesus responds, "The time you only saw one set of footprints was when I was carrying you." 

My poem is a little different. My poem has drag marks in the sand, where Christ was dragging me along.

When I do hard things that are Christ centered, not me centered, I always have spiritual growth. 

Intrinsic value.

Something to ruminate on.

Blessings,

Roger