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]
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.
Several “Nancy” comics written and drawn by Guy Gilchrist have inspired my writing. Curious about the cartoonist, I was not surprised to learn that he is a Christian; that was not always true. As a boy, he was poor, lonely, abused, and searching for someone and something in which to believe. Missing a dad, he found a father figure in an unlikely place—television—and in a remarkable person—a radio, television and movie star by the name of Roy Rogers. When the young cartoonist was unsure how to behave, he’d look to the singing cowboy and ask himself, “What would Roy do?” He knew his cowboy hero always took the right course of action. Although Rogers was publicly vocal about his faith, Gilchrist didn’t know his hero was a Christ follower until many years later.
My summer beach novel began with a man having a heart attack on a commuter train. For the next several pages, I was privy to the thoughts of his fellow passengers who were annoyed by the train’s unscheduled stop for medical aid. Because they’d be delayed, they saw the man’s collapse as a tremendous inconvenience to them. As passengers disembarked to find another way into the city, their thoughts were not of the dying man and his wife but of themselves and how they’d been inconvenienced.
“It’s a masterpiece!” I would exclaim when admiring my grands’ latest creations before hanging them on the refrigerator. Truth be told, they only were masterpieces in my grandma eyes. To anyone else, they were just a child’s efforts with crayons, markers, and stickers. A real masterpiece is a work done with exceptional skill—a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement. Even then, the word “masterpiece” usually is limited to an artist’s best work. While my grands needed to hone their skills before creating a true artistic masterpiece, every one of us is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece and an example of God’s best work.
In contrast to works, which are produced by us, the Fruit of the Spirit is produced by the Holy Spirit. Rather than a basket with a variety of fruit, this is one indivisible fruit characterized by nine virtues: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We could call this the “Christlikeness fruit” because these characteristics describe Jesus and should describe us.
