Isn’t it just a little ironic that we spend money on brand new, cheaply Made-in-China items that are made to look old and battered? Or on brand new jeans that are already ripped?
Maybe there is something in us that knows that everything genuine and authentic comes with scars from use. It has stood the test of time and is still standing.
But when our chair gets chipped or the Girl’s jeans rip, we donate them to Goodwill and buy new ones that only look vintage.
In our hearts, we want the genuinely strong stuff that can withstand all the weathering and battering that life dishes out. We marvel at the tin and oak and glass of our grandparent’s generation. “Things just aren’t made the way they used to be,” we say. But when it comes to daily reality, we settle for furniture that looks strong enough to have survived years of cuts and scratches, but is just glued together with pressed wood and thin nails.
Could it be that we have settled for a cheap, imitation faith, too? You know – one with the antique stain of encouragement and inspiration for me and my goals in life, but without the heavy oak backdrop of the sacrifice it took to earn our forgiveness – and the sacrificial response required of us?
I love a good deal, but not if it means settling for something cheap and mass-produced that cracks when you drop it.
I want Truth that has stood the test of time and bears the scars to prove it.
I want the beautifully scarred Gospel – the oldest, most vintage, and most authentic Love story ever told. The Gospel that calls us to join in and carry on the Love story with every family member and stranger we meet.
The Gospel that cost Jesus His life, and costs me nothing – and everything, all at once.
Because nothing of real value is ever cheap.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
Matthew 13:45-46
“I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”
Philippians 3:8
The Reclaimed Life 