For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. [John 3:16 (CSB)]
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [Romans 10:9 (CSB)]
When Nintendo introduced the Wii gaming console in November of 2006, their initial allotment of only one million consoles for North America meant that customers lined up in droves desperate to buy one. With demand outstripping inventory, my husband and I got up before dawn one cold November morning in 2006 and stood in line with hundreds of others so we could fulfill Christmas wishes for our family.
Coined by Dr. Robert Cialdini, the term “scarcity principle of persuasion” means that the rarer or more difficult it is to obtain something, the more valuable it becomes. “Whatever is rare, uncommon or dwindling in availability…confers value on objects, or even relationships,” said the professor of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. Apparently, the impression of scarcity causes our FOMO (fear of missing out) to make us more likely to buy or seek something than if it were readily available.
Marketing directors want to create the feeling that “you’ve got to get here first and if you don’t, you lose.” Limited inventory releases, offers of a bonus with purchase, time-bound promotional deals like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, and exclusive seasonal offers create a sense of urgency that tells our brains to get it now before we miss out. The scarcity principle is what turns parents into frenzied shoppers trying to find items like Wiis, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Tickle Me Elmo dolls while others anxiously seek anything from McRib sandwiches, limited edition Oreos, Pokémon cards, and Labubus to Trader Joe’s mini tote bags, pumpkin spice lattes, the latest drop from Supreme or Nike, or the newest smartphones and watches.
Although He was God, Jesus wasn’t a marketing professional. He didn’t offer BOGOs, limit the number of souls that could be saved, or offer salvation only twice a year. Rather than say only a limited number of tickets to heaven would be available, Jesus offered salvation to everyone—rich or poor, Jew or Gentile, slave or free, woman or man!
Unlike someone wearing the latest limited drop from Burberry or Alexander Wang, following Jesus is neither a fashion statement nor status symbol. Instead, Jesus spoke of humility and warned people about the persecution and suffering they would endure as His followers! Instead of snagging the latest iPhone or sneakers, they were to deny themselves and take up the cross if they were going to follow Jesus. The Lord would have been a marketing director’s nightmare, but He wasn’t marketing something! He was giving something away—Jesus came to give eternal life to all who believed in Him.
According to Dr. Cialdini, along with convincing someone what they stand to gain by choosing a product, they need to know what they might lose by not choosing it. Even though He didn’t attend Cialdini’s classes, Jesus did do that. Instead offering a bonus “gift with purchase,” He told people what they stood to gain by following Him—an abundant life, forgiveness of sins, the riches of His grace, peace, joy, love, and the Holy Spirit, along with eternal life. He also told those who denied Him that they faced divine judgment, condemnation, eternal death, and everlasting separation from God. As Paul explained to the Romans: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [6:23]
We’ve all seen those countdown timers in ads telling us how many days, hours, and minutes remain until the latest product drops, the concert tickets go on sale, or the special offer ends. Not wanting to lose any of His children, however, God is patient. Even so, Jesus’ offer does have an expiration date. Eventually, that day will come but there’s no countdown clock to tell us exactly when that is. Nevertheless, as long as we have breath, it’s never too late to turn to Christ. While the Wiis and Cabbage Patch dolls are long gone, the Nike shoes worn out, and none of the bonus Clinique products remain, salvation is eternal and, unlike Burberry’s limited-edition grey plaid blazer, it never goes out of style!
You cannot repent too soon, because you do not know how soon it may be too late. [Thomas Fuller]
The orange butterfly lay perfectly still in the middle of the trail. When we knelt down by it, the Viceroy fluttered its wings but only managed to skim a few inches across the gravel. As intact as it looked, one wing was entirely useless. A closer look led me to believe it had been hit by a speeding cyclist. To protect the creature from any more bikes or feet, we managed to get it off the trail into the grass. Unfortunately, without some sort of butterfly super-glue to reattach the loose wing, while we could help for the time being, we couldn’t save it.
How can Jesus, who told us to love our enemies and do good to them, tell us to hate our families? Do we have to despise our relatives if we want to be His disciples? Jesus, however, used “hate” idiomatically. Demanding unrivaled loyalty, He used hyperbole to contrast ultimate devotion to Him with all other attachments. In comparison to our love for Jesus, we are to love our family less than we love Him. Christ is to be first and foremost in our hearts and minds and we are to love Him more than anything else in our lives.
Like many of the psalms, Psalm 136 opens with words of thanksgiving. Beginning with creation, this beautiful psalm reviews God’s goodness in regard to his people and encourages them to praise Him for his merciful and steadfast love. Where it differs from the other psalms of thanksgiving is that every line is followed by a refrain of “His faithful love endures forever.” From those first three verses, it continues giving thanks “to him who alone does mighty miracles. … who made the heavens so skillfully. … who placed the earth among the waters. … who made the heavenly lights … the sun to rule the day… and the moon and stars to rule the night,” with its refrain following each verse. The next 13 verses recount Israel’s’ history…bringing them out of Egypt, parting the Red Sea, leading his people through the wilderness, defeating Pharaoh’s army, striking down powerful kings, and giving the land to Israel. Psalm 136 tells us that life is neither random nor meaningless; we are not here accidentally. Our lives are meticulously planned and intelligently designed.
Since her church attendance is limited to Christmas and Easter, with an occasional funeral or wedding thrown in, a neighbor describes herself as being a “Birth and Resurrectionist.” People like her are often categorized as “nominal” or “non-practicing” Christians. Granted, church attendance is not the litmus test for Christianity. Nevertheless, lack of church attendance indicates a lack of commitment and a token or non-practicing faith. While such people identify as “Christians,” their Christianity is a more a matter of culture, habit, or tradition than one of faith, creed, and rebirth.
Back in 2015, after their Washington, D.C., home was invaded, a family of three and their housekeeper were held hostage and tortured for nineteen hours before being brutally murdered and their house set on fire. During the family’s incomprehensible ordeal, their captor had a pizza delivered and calmly ate it. Ultimately, it was DNA left on a piece of that pizza that led police to the killer. While discovering his identity was an astounding piece of detective work, what most astonished me is that, while holding four people hostage—people likely crying in pain and pleading desperately for their lives—someone could calmly eat a pizza! How could anyone have an appetite while committing such an atrocious and cruel crime? Yet, Daron Wint did! Convicted of 20 counts of kidnapping, extortion, and murder, he was sentenced to four life terms in prison without the possibility of parole.
