A tax free check for $30,000 just came in the mail ...

Imagine that you open up the mail and there is a tax free check for $30,000. For a second let's assume its not a scam :-) and let's go to the bank and cash it. So, you decide you're going to go to your favorite dealership and buy a brand spanking new car with $30,000 ... in cash. Sweet. You find the one that you want with all the features that you desire. The salesman is so excited, and says that he'll have it detailed and delivered to you later in the day. So awesome.

Later that day there's a knock at the door. You open it up and there stands the salesperson with a box. He opens it up and shows you what's inside:  a spare tire, an emergency brake, one of the rear view mirrors and both rear brake lights. Oh, and something that looks like brake fluid covering the bottom of the box.

"What's this?  I ordered that car I test drove with all the features and the cool sound system. What's going on here?", you say.

"Well," the salesman responds, " I know you bought the whole car, features and all, but this is all I'm willing to give you."

What do you think? Pretty good deal, huh?

Of course not. You paid for the entire car. You should get the entire car, right?

Now let me switch gears on you (no pun intended) ...

Jesus paid for us on the cross.  He bought us, lock stock and barrel, and we said and continue to say, "Jesus is my Lord and Savior".  But let's be honest. Do we give him our whole self, or just the spare parts and pieces that we're comfortable with?  Heck, the parts we give him most of the time aren't even shiny new OEM parts. They're parts we picked up from the junkyard.

We go to church on Sunday, we read the Bible periodically, we might give once a year to some select charity. Maybe we even tithe.  I don't know about you, but I know I  don't give him the whole car with all the features he paid for.

We really think that by giving it all up to him that we'll be losing something. We're that deluded by our culture, by this world. God promises that the more we give of ourselves to him, the more he will give himself to us.

That, my brothers and sisters, is one incredible trade in.  Why do we resist and hang tight on to our spare parts?

Let go, and let God do his thing.

Anecdote compliments of pastor Greg Laurie.