Get Out Of The Box

| May 16, 2019

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”  Matthew 16:25 NKJV

I’ve always had a “thing” for new shoes.  When my latest pair of Puma Classic sneakers arrived in the mail, it was like Christmas as I savored the opening:  crisp laces, unwrinkled by routine stress. Pristine soles, not a speck of sand or dirt in tread. Earthy smell of new suede.  Crinkle of tissue surrounding the shoes in their cardboard bed. Angelic chorus and heavenly glow as I open the box (what, that doesn’t happen for you when you open a shoe box?!).

I was so excited about them that I was torn between a desire to don them immediately and forever, and to leave them in the box, so they wouldn’t get dirty.  (I may have even transported them, in their original box, to the site of the first wearing so they would be absolutely perfect upon their debut… may have.)

I didn’t see a problem with this relationship until this week.  I was at work helping a guest load some furniture into his car when I realized that I was deliberately stepping around the murky puddles in the parking lot.  As in, on tiptoe. And I wasn’t really helping him because of it.

Five seconds later, I think my soul blushed with the revelation: I was more concerned with protecting my still-white soles than with truly serving my guest.  And I’m often tempted to see my life with Jesus the same way.

I’m so grateful for His love and forgiveness that I want to keep my life free from “dirt” for as long as possible.  The only problem is that this is exactly the opposite of how Christ lived, and how He calls me to live. He doesn’t want me stay inside a safe Christian box.   He wants me to tie my laces and jump in, serving others with a joyful heart, seeking out those who don’t even know they’re lost, touching them with the kindness of Christ.  I have that opportunity every day at Double Edge.

You’re welcome to jump in with us anytime at DE.  You may even see me, and I may even be wearing my Pumas… only they’ll be a little less white, and a little more lived-in.

Patti Prihoda is a contributing writer to the TC Christian Blog.  She works as an Assistant Manager at Double Edge, TC Christian’s thrift shop.

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