I’m a sucker for a good deal. On Sept. 2, I went online and ordered a leather bracelet with a metal tag engraved with the word “I,” a picture of a heart and the word “Jesus.” Since I work with students, I thought this item would make a great gift for someone who has done an outstanding job in our ministry. Not only was it a good-looking bracelet, but the price was right: I could buy both the bracelet and tag for the low, low price of 50 cents.
But that wasn’t all. The company would ship it free. Since a stamp costs 49 cents, I figured I would be getting the bracelet for only one cent, so I ordered it. I ordered from this particular company because they offered a couple of guarantees. If the bracelet didn’t arrive, they would reimburse me the full 50 cents. And they would also offer a way for me to go online and track the package as it made the journey to my abode.
After I placed my order, I began to follow the route my bracelet took. It left Hangzhou, China on Sept. 3 and arrived in Chicago, Illinois on Sept. 13. It left Chicago on Sept. 16 and arrived in Dallas, Texas Sept. 18. It lay around Dallas for a few days and left for Houston, Texas on Sept. 19. It took seven days to go from Dallas to Houston, arriving there on Sept. 26. If you do the math, you’ll see that the postman was walking just over one mile per hour. That is one dedicated postal worker.
But the day the bracelet arrived in Houston, the postal service turned around and shipped it back to Dallas the same day. Dallas, not wanting to have anything to do with this bracelet, immediately sent it to McAlester, Okla. McAlester is close to my home, so the post office sent it on to Tulsa on Sept. 28.
I was so excited that my bracelet had arrived in my hometown that I went online to check when it would arrive at my house. There I discovered that the Tulsa post office had returned it to Houston, where it arrived on Oct. 3. Again, Houston wasn’t interested in my bracelet, so they sent it back to Chicago, and it arrived there on Oct. 10.
And what did the Chicago post office do with it this time? You know the answer. They sent it on to Jamaica! As I am writing this article, I can look online and see clearly that my “I Love Jesus” bracelet is enjoying a warm, sunny weekend on the beaches of Jamaica. The only problem? My arm is not attached to it.
Let me summarize my bracelet’s journey. It left Hangzhou, China and went on to Chicago-Dallas-Houston-Dallas-McAlester-Tulsa-Houston-Chicago and is currently relaxing in Jamaica. I am not sure if and when it will return to Tulsa, much less my mailbox.
I hope that package has my name and the product name side-by-side on the front: “Walker Moore, I Love Jesus.” For you see, I am not ashamed of Jesus. Not only do I want to be a witness, but if He can use my misdirected package to bring glory to Him, so be it. Imagine: sharing the love of Christ for 50 cents!
I know many people who become uncomfortable when you talk to them about spiritual things, and they get even more uncomfortable when you bring up the name of Jesus. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Rom. 1:16).
I want everyone from Hangzhou, China to Jamaica and all the places in between to know that we have a God who loved us so much that He sent Jesus not only to the Jews but to the rest of the world. After all, you can’t be salt and light and impact the world if you are embarrassed by or ashamed of Jesus.
I’m not sure where my bracelet will go next, but I’m hoping it’s somewhere the Gospel hasn’t been. I could be frustrated that I have yet to receive my bracelet. But I am not ashamed of Jesus, and I know something else: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
Bracelet or no bracelet, Jamaica, Chicago or Tulsa, I love Jesus.
