Saturday, February 21, 2009

A-live demonstration!


Today’s Reading: John 20:8 (NIV)

8 Finally, the other disciple who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.

Good morning!

Do you remember when savvy salesmen dressed in three piece suits and ties would knock on your front door and ask for a minute of your time to demonstrate the latest and greatest vacuum cleaner? They would tell the lady of the house, “You’ve just got to see it to believe it!” When Jeff and I were first married, I remembered thinking that we needed to purchase a certain brand of vacuum; otherwise, we just wouldn’t be able to get our house really clean. The bells and whistles that came on these vacuum cleaners made one believe they could almost do the work all by themselves. And as much as they cost, that should have been true, don’t you think?

A live demonstration can speak volumes when it comes to believing. It is one thing to hear about a person, place or thing. It is something else to see it with your own eyes. I was amazed by the canister of dirt the dapper salesman would pull from his suit coat pocket, just to spill all over my mother’s clean carpet. Salesman have to spill the dirt before they can make their point, and there was no doubt that this one wanted to make a point. His vacuum cleaner would clean up any mess anywhere in record time, without even breaking a sweat. He was the master of attachments! Use this wand and clean the door frame ledges; the nozzle is perfect for apholstery and curtains, and this cord will stretch the entire length of your living room – no need to keep moving the plug-in. My mother was totally impressed! The problem would be selling my father when he came home that night.

We would try to gently tell him about the unannounced visitor during dinner. Hopefully his eating would distract him from getting angry. My mother kept the color brochures hidden until just the right moment during dessert, and we would all chime in together to validate how truly magical this machine really was! My mother didn’t bother telling him about how easy it might be for her to have this self-propelled vacuum; rather, she looked for ways that might appeal to Dad. After all, he would obviously want to use the vacuum when he washed the cars, or vacuumed out the air conditioning filters, or worked in the attic. Daddy wasn’t nearly as impressed, even with the artwork sitting right in front of him. Mom knew Dad would be a hard sell. He wasn’t going to jump into anything until he could see it for himself. When the salesman returned the next week, Mother asked the gentleman if he might be willing to loan his equipment to her overnight so she could give a personal demonstration of the vacuum for her husband. Surprisingly, the salesman agreed. It must have been a tough year in sales. But he was one wise man. He knew the sale was as good as done. My father tried out the vacuum for himself, totally liked what he saw, and left the money on the kitchen counter the next morning as he left for work. Seeing is definitely believing!

Peter and the other disciple had forgotten about Christ’s words, or maybe they just simply didn’t understand them. It wasn’t until they saw that Jesus was not there, when they recalled that He would rise again from the dead. This is why we can be sure that Jesus Christ is who He says He is – the Son of the Living God and the Savior of the world. Without His rising, the truth of Christ would be a holy stretch. The resurrection power is the same power available for you and me. He will bring our spiritually dead souls back to life in Him. It is His righteousness, His blood, His rising, that sucks the deepest dirt from our souls and makes us whole and clean in Him. There is no need for fancy attachments or gadgets to make this happen. Christ’s resurrection completes the job – it is finished and the battle with sin has been conquered forever!

What will it take for you to believe? Do you need to see Him to believe it? If you do, you are not alone. Ask the Lord to reveal Himself to you through the power of His Word. Then pick up your Bible and see it for yourself. Seeing is believing!

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

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