It wasn’t her fault. Well not really. But I was still mad. I had walked into the store beaming with confidence. And why not…I KNEW what I was doing. In one hand, I had two statements (two bills)…one for the cell phones and the other for the satellite TV. In the other hand I had a perfectly working credit card. With all of these bills being new, I had finally ironed out a system of how I wanted to pay them. I had made mistakes early…forgotten statements and account numbers…the typical mistakes of the ignorant layman bill-payer. But that was then…this Mark had all the confidence of Darth Vader in a playground scrap. And then she spoke…”Sir, we have a new system.” Sweat instantly beaded up on my forehead. My knees started to wobble. In the end, as you can probably guess, my world fell apart. I was forced to run home (in the rain) for data I did not have on me. I won’t bore you with how all this impacted me. But I confess I was upset. Unfortunately, it didn’t get better after I returned with the missing information. I was able to pay one of the bills, but not the other. It was quite maddening to think of having the bills and the money to pay them in my hands…but the new system needed more. Mark was not happy.

I am quite certain I am not the only person dealing with the all-too-common system updates and “new systems” that are now part of life. Banking, computers, cellphones, cable systems, cars, and the like update all the time. When I came home, I paced around the living room for a few minutes, contemplating how I could sue and eventually own the company that had dared to mess up my little world. In the end, a cooler head prevailed…and my heart slowly caught up.

As a pastor of a church and preacher of the Gospel, new things, new approaches, and system updates are indeed a part of the work. But I was comforted as I thought about the Gospel, the completed work of Christ, His death, burial, and resurrection. I was hit with the reality that this message is still in place after over 2,000 years in use. Over the years, people have dabbled with various method updates and different approaches to share the message…but the Scriptures are quite plain in reminding us that the message itself will NEVER need updating. I am blessed to preach the same message the apostles themselves preached. How cool is that?? May we all offer thanks to God for a life-changing, hope-inspiring, promise of new life found only in Christ. Blessings! Stay classy Monticello! 🙂