Trading With No Regrets

Have you spotted the new Trade-It store in town?

This innovative retailer can be found at the corner of Evans St. and Greenville Blvd., and its signage subtitle says it all: Sell it…Buy it…Love it. I was intrigued by this marketing slogan and recently conducted some firsthand reconnaissance.

No great surprise once I got inside. You sell your stuff at wholesale and can buy other stuff at retail, goodies that your peers have previously sold. It’s essentially an upscale garage sale all in one place, and I can see why the place was packed the day I visited.

The truth is, almost all of us have outdated stuff around the house that can be traded for something more useful. Jesus understood this life principle and invited us to trade our lives for something better. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, pick up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35)

Jesus was crystal clear: we could not embrace His kingdom and way of life (Buy it) until we let go of our world’s values (Sell it). To be an intentional follower, we must first deny our own rights.

Once we “sell” our life and in so doing acknowledge our need, we can now embrace or buy His way of life; picking up our cross and following. In other words, we exchange a world where we are at the center for a world where He is at the center. We let go our agenda and embrace His. We go from a Burger-King mindset where we “have it our way” to a King of Kings perspective where we bow to His Way.

Jesus called this exchange process discipleship and promised joy to those who acted on this invitation: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) Our response to this exchange is obvious, we Love it! What a great deal as we sell our broken humanity for His forgiveness and restoration.

Sell it…Buy it…Love it. This may be a good marketing strategy for a retail business, but it’s an even better summary of the gospel message of Jesus. Personally, it’s a deal I have never regretted making.

This weekend, Branson will wrap up his series on No Regrets, originally set for last weekend. Be sure to join us as we catch up for a lost snow weekend.

Exchanging My Life for His!

Charlie