What's the goal

Not long ago I was in Costco on a Saturday.  In one way Saturday is not a great day to shop at Costco because they are so busy.  On the other hand, they have lots of people who give out free samples on weekends.  I was particularly interested in the chocolate truffle cheesecake samples and so I wandered that way.  But the dear little lady who was carefully arranging her little paper cups didn’t notice me.  She was busy making sure her tray was perfectly aligned.  I cleared my throat, but there was no response.  I tried to make eye contact, but she never looked up.
 
So I cruzed on by and tried some veggie dip and granola mix and made another pass.  She was still arranging her paper cups.  This time I even asked, “Do you have any samples ready?”  Her response was “not yet” and she keep on arranging and filling up her tray.  At the speed she was working I realized it might be a half-hour until the cheesecake samples were available, so I moved on.  I suppose I could have gone back after I ate my hot dog and “very, berry sundae,” but by then I was full.
 
The cheesecake lady at Costco made the same mistake we in the church often make.  She was more intent on the appearance of her product than she was on distributing her product to hungry cheesecake deprived shoppers like me.  Sometimes in the church we get so hung up on appearances, and our comfort and our pet projects that we forget why we are here.  Our goal is to give people the gospel, not to perpetuate our favorite programs or satisfy our special needs.
 
I love the Apostle Paul’s lazer-like focus in (Philippians 3:13-14) “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Jesus likewise summed up his mission in a single sentence.  In (Luke 19:10) Jesus says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” 
 
Let’s never forget why we are here.  Our primary mission is to rescue the lost.  If we focus on that everything else becomes secondary.
 
Have a great week (and eat some cheesecake!)
 
Pastor Barry