Coupons

Why aren't coupons as valuable to me as they used to be? There was a day when I would spend Sunday afternoon going through the paper, clipping out all those manufacturers promises to save me money. It's not that I don't need to save money, Lord knows there's never enough of that. Maybe it's because the big retailers are bargaining for me and with their promise of "the lowest possible price" I've decided to not spend my valuable resource (time) on figuring out a way to squeeze out 25 more cents from that already low price. In some twisted way, I might even feel guilty for using coupons when that big retailer has negotiated the lowest possible price - and my coupon would make them lose money - and possibly go out of business. That's a sad day!

NOT!

It's doubtful that a retailer would go out of business if we all used coupons every week on every product represented. The manufacturers have an economic science that allows them to make agreements with the retailers to assure that price points on the items with coupons are in a place where, even if we all used a coupon, the retailer makes money. If anyone will lose money, it's the manufacturer who takes a calculated loss. That's why coupons have expiration dates. That's one of the ways America's happiest retailer can create commercials to tout their "falling prices." If we see a price decrease of even a few cents (even if the price was inflated to cover the coupon period), we're profoundly impressed.

You might be impressed at this point, or this might not be news to you. But I want to assure you that this process isn't at all original. God himself created the master plan for redemption. AND in His perfect wisdom, His plan created an exchange program that allowed Him to take a calculated loss in order for us to partake in the goodness of His grace. But it doesn't end there. Like the retailers, we have the opportunity to offer God's "product" to those around us. Consider this verse:

2 Corinthians 5: 18 (NLT)
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.

Reconciliation is a similar concept to redemption. I want to spend some time developing this idea of a reconciling ministry by considering "redemptive relationships" over the next several posts. I look forward to our dialog!