Huge Disappointments

A long time ago in a land far away, before the internet and long before cell phones, a boy or girl could go to the back of a comic book and order a variety of items. Mail order of course. It could be anything from exercise regiments that would keep you from getting bullied to something called sea monkeys!

One of the items available were these really great-looking toy soldiers. They looked so life-like and very cool to a nine-year-old boy, that I was able to convince my parents to let me order them. It was a great day when they came, but I noticed immediately that the package was much smaller than I had thought it would be. As it turns out, that wasn’t the only disappointment. The whole set was cheap, small, and much less than advertised.

I wonder today if that is not the experience many people have when they go into churches looking for a very big and extremely awesome God and find that what they receive instead is a group of people playing religion and not offering the God that was advertised. After all, He comes with a lot of promise.

The Beginning and the End. The Savior. The Prince of Peace. The best Hope.

It makes me sad when we the Church under-deliver, not because God is anything less than advertised, but because we underestimate and fail to let Him be the source of our religion.

People are desperately looking for the real deal. They need hope, authentic hope. We actually have what they are looking for! Our goal should always be to bring people in to meet our Savior. Not the watered-down version, but the one true God. That may mean that we have to open ourselves up to the same!

This Avent season, let us truly offer the Hope that people are looking for to meet the needs in their lives. Let’s be the ambassadors that God has called us to be and boldly pray, lavishly love, generously give, and pour out His Spirit every chance we get.

I can tell you that if we do, people will not be disappointed in what they receive.

In Him,
Pastor Scott