Seriously??!! It’s 2017…Who Doesn’t Take a Check?

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One of the quickest ways to undo all of the rest and relaxation from vacation is to have to navigate an airport to get home.  Our family had a great time on vacation and enjoyed lots of fun together.  The best part of a vacation like that is that we all get to go home together and continue the adventure!   As we headed into the airport, we realized that we were in for a treat because we were travelling from another country home right in the midst of the busy 4th of July holiday weekend.  Things went fairly smoothly on the checkin and dropping off our checked bag.  As usual, Clint only had to put about 30 things from our family suitcase into his backpack to get it under the weight so that we wouldn’t get charged an exorbitant amount of money extra.  At least we had the backpack for him to use!  That was much better than a recent trip when he just ended up carrying the family laundry bag onto the airplane…what a guy!

After we checked in, we decided to grab some lunch before boarding the flight home.  We stood in line for a long time in order to purchase our 3 hamburgers, onion rings, drinks, and a shake for a cool $60 in airport prices.  Clint and Eli went to grab a table and then Emma and I stayed to get our food.  In order to do that at this restaurant, you had to wade into around 100 people who were impatiently crowded around a counter hoping for their number to be called.  Many people complained that they had been waiting 20-30 minutes.  We were lucky ones only having to wait 20 minutes!  It was hot, the people were crowding and unhappy, and lots of the orders were getting mixed up due to the impatience of the crowd.  I felt my own anxiety starting to creep up and everything in me wanted to step up and organize the situation so that everyone…namely me and my family…could get our food in a reasonable time and sort of close to what we ordered.

Just at that very moment, a young man to my left became very exasperated at the young man behind the counter taking orders.  Apparently it was time to pay for his meal and the cashier had totaled his items and gave him the amount he owed.  The young man attempted to pay with a check and the cashier let him know that they only accepted cash and cards.  The young man exclaimed quite loudly “Seriously?!  It’s 2017…Who Doesn’t Take a Check?”!!  His frustration provided a moment of levity for the crowd as we all realized that we may have taken for granted the fact that everyone has moved away from this form of payment.

God used this moment in time to remind me of the truth of 1 Corinthians 1:18-19 as it relates to both the wisdom and power of God.  “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” (ESV)  How many times do we miss out on sharing the simple truth of the gospel itself because we feel like we are past that?  Do we take for granted that the person standing next to us waiting to pick up their meal or sitting in the waiting room of the oil change place might not know the Lord?  After spending a few minutes with us…will they be drawn to the Lord or will they be turned farther away from Him?

It’s 2017 folks…there are lots of things that are vying for our attention, but none greater than the One who is most worthy of our attention and our praise.  Romans 5:8 reminds us, “But God demonstrates His love for us in this, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  He paid the price for a debt that we could never pay.  I’m grateful that He paid with his life.  A check wouldn’t have worked for that payment either!

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