You Better Shop Around

In 1961, the song Shop Around came out. It was a song where a young man’s mother told him don’t propose to the first gal he sees but instead keep his freedom as long as he can and shop around. There are people who feel this way about their eternity; shopping around different religions, keeping their “freedom” as long as they can. Many call it learning about different beliefs, but during learning there is no commitment, just continued sinning while shopping for the religion that fits them the best. It seems kind of ironic that this shopping helps a person maintain a sense of freedom when Galatians 5:1 says, that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Have you ever wondered where God shops? When looking for souls to save does the Lord go to the “Gucci Giant” in Baltimore County looking for the best dressed and financially sound? Is He shopping in the thrift stores in Essex looking for the thrifty or downtrodden? Ironically, He shops everywhere that sinners are, churches, jails, hospitals, schools, the world in general. However, the Lord, strong and mighty, definitely can be found shopping in the gutter. Sometimes, after being cleaned up by the Lord, believers can forget that the Lord found them dirty, hungry, and thirsty lying in the proverbial gutter. It was there in that place of filth that grace came and saved you. It was there in that place of need that mercy chose you. It was there amid your sin that love lifted you from the gutter and changed you forever.

PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for finding me and selecting me even amid my sin. Thank You for touching my heart and letting me know that You weren’t looking for the perfect person, but a person willing to be perfected. Thank You, Lord, for seeing the diamond in the rough. Thank You for sending Your Son to save us. In the matchless name of Jesus, Amen.
By Sis. Pat Towns