Far better for you!

It was dropped at my front door and I was quite excited. 

The side of the box described it as “Wrought Iron & Teak Park Bench” and I thought that it would fit really well in ‘pride of place’ in the corner of the front garden. 

I knew that it was in pieces and it was raining when it was delivered, so I waited for a couple of days before assembling it.  Everything was going fine until I opened the box. 

All the pieces were present and correct; the legs were elegant and more than suitable but then came the problem.

The only way I can describe the back of the bench (the bit that everyone would see) is to say that it was a reject from the house of the Seven Dwarves (and not the digitally remastered version!)

In the midst of a beautiful timber frame was this hideously, hand-painted conglomeration of brightly coloured flowers and patterns.  It seemed to scream loudly at you as you tried to look away – you didn’t want to look…but you couldn’t help yourself! 

After my initial shock, the laughter set in and I proceeded to share the fun as I showed my kids, my wife and anyone else who has visited my garage since.  (It could make an ideal gift for someone this Christmas!!) 

Most of the time when you buy something it will meet your expectations, occasionally an item will greatly exceed them, but now and then you find something, like my park bench, that falls dreadfully short of the mark.   

In 29 years of following Christ I have found that He has exceeded my expectations on a consistent and regular basis. 

So I would encourage you to not settle for a gaudy or badly designed life, when Christ has something far better for you!