Restrictions Apply   

False notions of liberty are strangely common. People talk of it as if it meant the liberty of doing whatever one likes - whereas the only liberty that a man, worthy of the name of man, ought to ask for, is, to have all restrictions, inward and outward, removed that prevent his doing what he ought.  Frederick W. Robertson

I was listening to a commercial on the radio this morning and it talked about all of the outstanding things you could buy.  It went on and on about how you could purchase so many of this and so many of that but then came the punchline.  RESTRICTIONS APPLY. 

I call it the Bait, Hook and Reel ‘em in form of advertising.  You start with a great bait, like a great fishing worm, you hook  them with the great bargain and once you get them into the store there is that little sign or tiny print at the bottom that tells you what you are really getting.  You are left flopping around like a fish in the bottom of the boat trying to figure out what happened.  How did I get caught?

I think the reason we often get caught in this trap is because the ad is intended to draw you in.  Just like a bass doesn’t know the difference in a plastic lure and a real bait fish, we are caught in the flashy exterior of the promotion. Then the advertiser has someone come in at the end and talk so fast about the restrictions that you can’t understand what they say or the print is so small that you need a magnifying glass to read it.

God doesn’t work that way.  He is clear about what we are to do as a Christian.  He tells it like it is.  The great thing about it is no one on earth is restricted from joining His family.  It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, wear nice clothes or rags, talk eloquently or stutter, drive a fancy car or a clunker or live in a mansion or a hut.  We all are welcome and we are all given a choice.  Often we are the ones who restrict ourselves from following Him.  We think we are not good enough or we decide the price is not worth the effort.  God doesn’t hide our salvation in tiny print or fast words.  Lose your life and follow Me.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, sometimes advertising can be so misleading.  We are often drawn in by the promises offered in flashy advertising.  I praise You for making it clear how I can become part of Your family and for providing a way to salvation through Your Son.      

Scripture:   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