A "Tender" Lesson

Yesterday I had the privilege of taking my youngest two squids to the dentist for check ups and cleanings before this new school year begins in just a few weeks. They did really good, no crying or whining and to top it all off they have no cavities so I promised them a quick bite to eat for lunch. Across the street from the dentist was a Burger King. We decided to just go through the drive-thru and enjoy our freshly prepared meal(yea right)on the way home. Now I will be the first to tell you that when you frequent these 1/2 Star restaurants as many times as I have over the years, you quickly learn that you better check your order before you ever leave the parking lot because you don't want to end up with someone's Biggie Fry when you ordered onion rings! So we did what we always do, we pulled over and checked the bag. It was then that we noticed something that I honestly hadn't ever seen before. My daughter had ordered four chicken tenders and instead of receiving four, she received two that had not been cut but torn in half to make four! I quickly went back inside to share my findings with the manager to where she apologized and gave me four new, complete tenders. As I walked out the door and back to my family, I wondered why on the earth would anyone ever try to do that? Why would someone tear chicken tenders in half to make it seem like more? Surely they would have known that I would have eventually realized that I did not get what I had paid for...and so it is with you and I and God? God sent His one and only son Jesus to live and die for us all so that we could have eternal life and spend it with Him. And what do we do? We try to trick Him and instead of giving Him our all, we try to tear ourselves into little pieces and offer him less, thinking we can pull one over on Him. It reminded me of a song that is not only sung at our church but at churches all over. "Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow." Jesus paid for all of your sin by the shedding of His blood on the cross and you owe Him your ALL. Can I ask you a question? When Jesus looks down in your bag of life, does He get in return what He paid for or have you just given Him half? Consider Your Ways...Pastor John