the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Daily Devotionals
Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life
Way back when, when life was a lot simpler and my kids were still kids, I used to sell shoes. No, truthfully, I subscribed to one of those mail order shoe houses that gave you discounts on quality footwear if you sold so much to other people. I was able to move a pair or two but found out that selling your friends something that you wanted them to buy for your personal benefit could strain the relationship.
That aside, I learned some things about shoes and clothing in general. The label that you see in the shoe is not necessarily the name of the shoe factory from which it came. Shoe companies shop for shoes just like you and I do. Difference is they purchase hundreds of thousands of shoes when they buy. Yeah, I know, your wife is pretty close to that. But the point is, all they are doing is buying a shoe and putting a label in it.
It reminds me of the time I worked for Mac Tools back in the '70s. At that time Mac Tools was making wrenches for Sears Craftsman line as well as J. C. Penney's Penncraft line. I talked with a friend about tool quality one day and likened the two lines of Craftsman and Penncraft. He became very animated as he assured me that in no way were Penncraft wrenches as good as Craftsman. "All you have to do is look at them to tell the difference." Yep, one said Penncraft and one said Craftsman. That's the only difference.
People are much the same. There might be different races but we all start out with the same quality for the most part. We all start out with a soul that is clean before God. From there it comes down to who gets their label on us. Funny thing is, only one is willing to pay the price to purchase us. The other just bides their time and waits for us to slip, then they claim us by default. There's something special about being desired enough that a price can be put on us as against just claimed.
There is a quirk. We have to approve the sale and then remember that we have been bought. "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 We now have God's label on us. Live worthy of the label's quality.
'Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life' Copyright 2010 © Tom Kelley. 'Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life' articles may be reproduced in whole under the following provisions: 1) A proper credit must be given to the author at the end of each story, along with their complete bio and a link to https://www.studylight.org/ 2) 'Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life' content may not be arranged or "mirrored" as a competitive online service.
