Have you ever tried to give away---for free---something truly good and people stride past you as if you were offering them poison?In order to support my writing habit I have a part-time marketing job that I work at on weekends. I demonstrate various products at a large department store. On any given weekend I could be giving out free samples from everything from cat food to serving pancakes to free chocolates.
Now granted we don’t all like the same things. What a boring world that would be if we did.
If shoppers don’t want what I offer then a polite smile and a no-thank-you would suffice as people move past me and my serving tray.
But alas, when I’ve held out my tray of chocolates in their cute little plastic cups, I’d swear some people think I’m trying to shorten their life.
Thankfully most people realize it’s only a free gift, something with no cost to give them a moment’s joy. And they’re under no obligation to buy. My job is to give out the samples. No coercion involved.
It often reminds me of the times I try to tell others about my relationship with Christ—how wonderful it is. How free I feel to enjoy life, and how I obtained this relationship by simply recognizing it as a gift and reaching out to take it and enjoy it.
Sadly, too many of my relatives and acquaintances look at my bond with the Lord as something that will rob them of fun and good times. They fail to see it as the most wonderful thing in the world.
But I often find that when someone does take a tiny bit of a risk and decides to try something from my sample tray, their eyes widen in surprise. And they make speak with a mouth full and say, “Oh my, I didn’t think I’d like it, but that’s really good.”
As far as the greatest free gift of all---a relationship with the King of Kings, well, I’ll keep gently holding out my metaphoric sample tray, and one day those people around me will look up into the Lord’s face and say with awe, “Oh my, I didn’t think I’d love you, but your love for me takes my breath away.”
That’s what I’m praying for them.
Have a very Merry Christmas, and I pray that if you've never accepted the greatest gift of all, that you will this year.
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jeus our Lord."
I invite you to drop by my website www.ChristineLindsay.com and visit me, or if you like a Historical novel that will sweep you away to India then you may like Shadowed in Silk.
Excellent analogy, Christine. We are seeing some softening to some non-believing relatives this Christmas. May they soon taste and see that the Lord is good.
ReplyDeleteChristine your sample tray looks so lovely, I can't imagine anyone saying no. I can well imagine they're delight when they take a taste.
ReplyDeleteChristine, I love this analogy. My own family has been watching me for years. And it has taken years for them to begin to take a risk and sample what Jesus has to offer. My father was in his late sixties, my mother has stopped criticizing, my nephew is beginning to come around. Every year God surprises me with those He brings into my life to sample his wares as I live His life before them. Thanks for the reminder of our need to consistently be available for others to sample Our Lord.
ReplyDeleteHi Christine, thanks for this great insight into the life of a 'sample lady'. I think your analogy was spot-on. One of the big things we have to contend with, even as writers, is peoples' natural suspicion and reluctance to have a taste.
ReplyDeleteLoved the way you combined the sample tray with the good news and relationship with Jesus.
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