Ever noticed how almost everything we do in life is a trade-off? Think about it. We trade adventure for security. Personal freedom for laws guaranteeing our safety. A bigger home for a bigger payment. The momentary pleasure of eating a donut for a bulge around the waistline. In my mind, all these are "negative" trade-offs. Well...except for the donut...maybe.
Sometimes though it's a sideways trade, like when you trade your old pair of cowboy boots, ones that are broken in, well worn, comfortable for a pair of new ones. The idea was to trade up, but it doesn't always work that way. The gain is offset by the loss. It's a wash.
So what should I call this trade? Beauty for the Beast? Appeal for Functionality? Out with the old, in with the new? Whatever it is, up, down or sideways, here's our new ride to Honduras. (below) A 2005 Chevy 3500 (1 ton) Express 15 passenger van. Woo hoo!
Not only will we have more room while we drive the 4000+ miles, but when we get to Honduras we can use the van to: host short-term missions teams, give neighbors rides, use as an outreach, pull the well drilling rig, etc. We'll use the trailer to transport personal items we'll need once we get there. After that, we can use it to move all the paraphernalia needed to drill wells from site to site.
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I try not to get overly "spiritual" in this particular blog, but spiritual is one of the reasons we're going to Honduras. In a sense my Quest continues. I really want to know; is this trade-off that Jesus, the Man in the know, says is the only way to actually experience Life...is this trade really the thing which gives life true purpose, meaning, fulfillment? If I try to hang on to my life am I really going to lose out on true Life? Maybe this is a better way to put it. If I trade my life for His Life am I really going to experience Life to the fullest? In the end, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?
Sometimes though it's a sideways trade, like when you trade your old pair of cowboy boots, ones that are broken in, well worn, comfortable for a pair of new ones. The idea was to trade up, but it doesn't always work that way. The gain is offset by the loss. It's a wash.
And then there's the real deal. The true upgrade. Like trading the Geo Metro for the Mustang GT and paying cash...someone else's. It's like waking up to a beautiful, crystal clear, not a cloud in the sky morning when the weatherman has called for overcast with periods of heavy rain. It's the winning lottery ticket, received as a gag gift on your birthday from your skinflint friend.
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Not only will we have more room while we drive the 4000+ miles, but when we get to Honduras we can use the van to: host short-term missions teams, give neighbors rides, use as an outreach, pull the well drilling rig, etc. We'll use the trailer to transport personal items we'll need once we get there. After that, we can use it to move all the paraphernalia needed to drill wells from site to site.
There's another kind of trade-off, one we seldom see. It's the one that on the outside looks like a bad move, a raw deal, a real loser. But we're told by someone who's in the know, someone we trust, that it's one of those over the top kind of deals. A home run. A once in a life time opportunity. Like this one. Mat. 16:25, "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." I don't know about you, but that does not sound like a trading up. How can trying to save or preserve my life result in losing it? Strangely, the Bible is full of these types of statements. Upside down, against the grain, nonsensical trades. Better to give than receive, the last shall be first, the greatest among you is the least among you. Paradoxes!
I try not to get overly "spiritual" in this particular blog, but spiritual is one of the reasons we're going to Honduras. In a sense my Quest continues. I really want to know; is this trade-off that Jesus, the Man in the know, says is the only way to actually experience Life...is this trade really the thing which gives life true purpose, meaning, fulfillment? If I try to hang on to my life am I really going to lose out on true Life? Maybe this is a better way to put it. If I trade my life for His Life am I really going to experience Life to the fullest? In the end, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?
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