Mail In Rebate  

 

But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.   For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,  who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. 1 Thessalonians 5:8-10

Am I the only one who gets irritated by mail in rebates?  I am the kind of gal who wants a get what you see when I shop.  I have a theory.  The mail in rebate is a ploy to get you in the store for a low price.  The catch is when you get in there you are still going to pay the full price you just have to go through a ton of paperwork to get the price you originally came in to pay. 

It is kind of sad really.  Instead of charging you a less expensive price in the first place, retailers are counting on you coming in and wanting the item so badly that you will pay the full price anyway. Since the majority of people don’t want to go through the hassle of filling out a bunch of forms and then mailing them in, then waiting for them to send you a check, or in some cases a gift card to purchase more of their stuff, the majority of people just don’t bother and the retailer knows this so they make the same amount of money they were going to charge you anyway.    

I want to be able to buy something at face value.  I am tired of the fine print.  The stuff that tells you what you are really getting.  I have started going immediately to the fine print because that is where the true cost is.  This same thing happens with people.  You want to trust what people say and do but that is just the surface that we see.  We have a tendency as humans to use others for our own purpose.  Many times the fine print is what we don’t say and do. 

One of the things that I love so much about God is that he doesn’t use a big advertisement to draw us in and then smack us with the fine print.  What you see is what you get.  There are no hidden agendas or forms you have to fill out in order to get salvation.  He doesn’t hide the steps in tiny letters you can’t read without a magnifying glass, under a big picture of Jesus hanging on the cross.  It is simple and to the point.  Jesus died for our sins.  You can have salvation.  Jesus paid.  We win if we choose to.  That is the best advertisement ever and many choose to refuse. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I praise You for offering me salvation without the fine print.  I am free to choose You at any time and I am not required to fill out a form and You don’t draw me in with false advertising about what salvation costs.  You state exactly what it cost.  Jesus life on a cross for my sin.  The highest price ever paid and I am forever grateful. 
            
Scripture:  I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. Isaiah 61:10-11