Fire Sale

So this past Saturday, Karissa and I went off to purchase our
Christmas tree. Now it wasn't as though we didn't have a tree yet( in
fact we now have five in our house) we just didn't have our real tree.
Somewhere in my creative art of procrastination I hadn't made it to
the boy scout tree sale to purchase it.
So there we are. The whole family bundled up in the cold ready to
purchase our live tree. Which brings me to a sidepoint, it isn't
alive. It just isn't completely dead. Let's face it there are no
roots, no growth and no chance for saving it. It is a dead tree,
pretty, but dead! So it being five days before Christmas the good ole
boys are having a fire sale. Trying to get rid of the leftover fire
starters to those people, such as myself, who have waited as long as
possible to get a tree. Now I have no problem supporting the BSoA, I
myself was one and enjoyed thoroughly being made fun of, burning
stuff and tying knots, but seriously with five days left now is the
time to put up your rock bottom price. So there we are, freezing, my
kids playing chicken with cars on rt. 60, trying to find the perfect
tree. So we find one my wife likes, original price--- $75... Sale
price ---- $60! What! 60 bucks for a tree that is going to be up 3
weeks in my house is one thing, I sacrifice to make my wife happy, but
60 for a tree that's going to be thrown out in a week, either by me or
them because they can't sell it... No way.
In the car we go. Straight to the real discounts, the everyday fire
sale professionals, Walmart. How much did I pay, 18.95! Sorry boy
scouts, you loose.
In this experience I wonder, how often do we do this with God. Put up
a front. Give him everything in words, but nothing in actuality. See
the scouts wanted to sell the trees, but they wanted to make money
more. They would rather chance not selling those trees at all instead
of moving them without a profit. We want God, want his change, love,
peace, joy, provision, purpose but do we want it more than all our
other desires. You will never get the fullness of God in your life
offering him parts of you at a discount. He wants it all, and for
free. You see when you finally find yourself given to God just because
it's His, not because of what He can do, you truly find Him.
So I encourage you, understand what season we are in. Now isn't the
time to procrastinate with God, now is the time to sell out. Now is
the time to give him everything.
D.