Apparently, my body is falling apart, and its warranty just ran out. At least that’s what the online advertisers who are trying to get me to buy their products are convinced of. I’ve recently received a barrage of Ads promising to treat every ailment known to man, and at hugely discounted prices I might add. Meds for my achy joints, memory loss, for my heart, cholesterol, and memory loss. (Oh wait, did I already mention . . . oh never mind). They obviously didn’t get the memo that I’ve really been trying to eat well, and exercise regularly. In general, I just do what the docs have been telling us to do forever; I watch my carb and sugar intake and limit the amount of bread and pasta I eat. Oh, and I also eat a normal person’s portion size rather than whatever will fit on my plate.
I do splurge, on occasion, and treat myself to some of my wife’s carb-a-licious cooking and legendary baked goods. Her Chocolate Chip Cookies should have their own patent.
I got quite a chuckle the other day as I scanned the plate of cookies, deciding which one I was going to break my sensible eating streak with. I knew, per my carb watcher app, that a cookie that size was listed as being 200 calories. My thought went something like this, “If I’m going to splurge, and indulge in one of these cookies, then I’m going to eat the biggest darn 200 calorie cookie I can fit in my mouth.” I thought I was pretty hilarious, and literally laughed out loud at myself.
After careful measuring each cookie in my mind, being sure to find the one with the highest CCPM (Chocolate Chips Per Morsel), I chomped away in total denial that it was even close to the same vicinity as a 200-calorie cookie.
I began wondering how often I do this type of thing in other parts of my life as well. You know what I mean, try to cheat the system, push the boundary, and just squeak by on a technicality, all the while knowing that a close miss of the target misses just the same as a larger miss. Romans 3:23 says this, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That word sin literally means to miss the target. But, although we’ve all fallen short of His glory, He, himself, bridges the gap between us! Hallelujah! Romans 6:23 tells us that, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God knows that we’re incapable of perfection and selflessly gave His one and only Son to die in our place, substituting His righteousness for our sinfulness.
He loves it when we strive to do what’s right, pursuing holiness with all we’ve got, but He’s ready with arms full of grace when we don’t measure up. He eagerly waits, ready to run to us the moment we take the first baby step towards Him. Let’s take that step!
Be Blessed!
~ Pastor Mitch