Recently I heard two words, and saw what they meant to Carol. For her, buying the house from a nice old lady turned out to be a lot of work. For the old lady the two words brought relief.
I thought of these two short, but strong words when it came time to wash the windows outside. It was a lot of work to do. But I smiled when those two words came to mind. I’ll remember to announce them when the time might come to sell this house and move.
That would have been the end of it, except for the bright revelation I had last night, stretched out in bed, waiting for sleep to overtake my busy mind and tired body. A deeper connection dawned on me, and I fell asleep with a smile. I do have something to write about, a little gem to pass on to my family and friends.
On the scale of 1 to 10 see what score you’d give these words. And see what spiritual application comes to your mind; then I’ll tell you more. The words are simply, “As is.”
To sell her house so she could move to a senior apartment community Mrs. Gregorio advertised it, “as is.” She didn’t try to redecorate, repaint, or even pull out the refrigerator to dust behind and underneath. She smiled and said, “The price is so reasonable because I must let it go, as is.”
And Carol gave her offer, and soon the house on Autumn Lane was hers.
And Carol gave her offer, and soon the house on Autumn Lane was hers.
Since perfection is so hard for me to achieve the meals I serve for company are also, “as is.” The Hawaiian Haystack ingredients are put on the counter. Those invited dish up for themselves, add this or that or all of it, in amounts they prefer. No worry for me about over-seasoning it or serving shredded coconut on top for people who don’t like that flavor.
The best part about “as is” has to be this:
Yes, the best part is this: we come to the Lord, as is. The Bible makes it plain that we cannot earn our salvation, our forgiveness from God can’t be deserved by our faithful church attendance, etc. He welcomes us with love, and then as we walk with Him we are empowered by His Holy Spirit to make the changes that He shows us. Learning and growing come by trusting and obeying the Lord. But the whole miracle of new birth is a result of our inviting Jesus, and praying, as is.
by Elaine Hardt ©2016
