Kev's Column: The Yard Sale Gospel

THE YARD SALE GOSPEL

You can tell spring is here and summer is just around the corner. There is a ritual performed at this time of year that gets more media attention than any other. There are entire pages in the newspaper devoted to this ritual. Banks have line ups every Friday afternoon as participants prepare for the ritual. Every Saturday morning, all over Canada, signs are plastered at intersections promoting the ritual. There are people, readers of this very newspaper, who consider this ritual one of the joys of their week. They enjoy the ritual so much, they even consider it a hobby. I am referring, of course to the ancient art of YARD SALE-ING.

Someday, centuries from now, archaeologists, historians and sociologists will come across evidence of yard sale-ing and wonder aloud at this phenomenon. What is it about that strange culture at the beginning of the 21st Century that compelled them to accumulate so much unwanted household debris? Then, in order to finance the purchase of more stuff, they haul it out to the driveway, slap price tags on it and sell it to their friends and neighbours, the majority of whom will resell the items at their very own yard sale in the years to come?

In 1986, my wife purchased a food processor at a yard sale. It was probably 15 years old when she got it. You know, we still use it. That small appliance has outlasted the majority of all the other appliances in our house. It was (I love this word): “A REAL FIND.”

Yard sale Junkies are always looking for the best buy at the cheapest price. Did you know the Church is full of people looking for something for nothing? We’ve created our own “Yard Sale Gospel.” We wonder why people look at the Church (I use the term broadly) and just shrug their shoulders, wondering aloud what the big deal is. It’s a big deal! The gift of God to the world is a BIG DEAL! But, all too often, we cheapen it like we do all the tagged junk on the driveway.

We say that salvation is free (which is true), but we neglect to leave out that it isn’t cheap. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Sure, salvation doesn’t cost us anything, but there was a price to pay. We just didn’t have to pay it.

We cheapen God’s gift of grace by saying things like:

· Just accept Jesus! No strings attached!

· Just clean up your life.

· Just live a good life and you will get into heaven

· Just do your best; God will accept you just as you are.

· Just go ahead and sin! You’re under grace, not law!

Cheap grace boasts that you can live any way you want with no cost involved. Dietrich Bonhoeffer says: “Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of the Church.” We must not offer the lost world a gospel that is like some ragged, worn out yard sale item. Something that no one wants, or, if there’s the slightest bit of interest, it’s only wanted at a cheap price. We must let the gospel challenge our lives, proving that, although free, its value cries out for all to grab it!

After 20 years the Food Processer is still chopping. That’s great for a yard sale find. But my salvation, and the grace that came with it, is a treasure beyond anything I can purchase here on earth.

That’s the gospel the world needs to hear about!