Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Finding God at garage sales

This weekend my church is hosting a garage sale, and I volunteered to help "price" items. That's maybe not an ideal job for me, because I really don't have the best sense of value. I would never win on The Price is Right. Ever.

My first assignment was to price about a dozen identical leather arm chairs that were lined up in the hallway. With $10-15 in mind, I asked my leader what she thought they should go for. She said that they were high quality chairs that typically sold factory fresh for about $1,000 each.

That sent my value-ometer a little berserk. I know garage sale items should be significantly less than new ones, but where do I make the jump between $10 and $1,000? I thought maybe I could label them at $50 so it would seem like a sacrifice to buy them, but people would still be getting them at a bargain. Then again, if someone came along who didn't know that chairs were actually that awesome, they would stroll past the 95% off deal and continue browsing elsewhere. And my job was to "price to sell." What a dilemma (insert "first world problems" jab here).

I was finally instructed to mark the chairs at $20, so I got to work writing up stickers. Now I don't know if it's because I'm a woman or because I was born an "Ivey" woman, but knowing the gap between what they were worth versus what they were priced sparked an urgency to get one into my possession. I have no need for a chair. I have no space for a chair.

That was yesterday.

This morning, I was awake early and settling in for my quiet time with God. And yes, I was still thinking about the stupid chairs. I reflected on how I had wanted to mark them for at least $50 but couldn't, knowing that garage-salers wouldn't recognize their worth. And this thought came to me:

"When you understand the value, you're willing to pay the price."

Bing! The connection is that God assigns and therefore grasps our value. He paid the same price for you as He did for Mother Theresa and for Adolph Hitler.

Hebrews 12:2 reads, "For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

That "joy set before Him" was the relationship He now gets to have with you and with me. Even just the opportunity-- the hope and chance that we would choose Him back, and He could be close to us. We are His joy. His reason for living and dying. He has always seen value in us. I wanted to encourage you to live in the truth that you were eternally paid for at the highest price. And with Him, there's no buyer's remorse.