Sold Out? Really?

It was a warm summer evening. I had been invited to a friend’s house for a party. As soon as I walked into the 8th floor apartment in North Toronto, despite the flurry of activity in the room, my eye was immediately drawn to a painting on the wall. It was a painting of four African women; each of them gorgeous in their own right; each defiantly beautiful; each daring you to not recognize her beauty. As the evening wore on, I caught myself stealing multiple glances at the masterpiece on the wall. Apparently I was not the only one who had been charmed by their beauty because at one point in the night, all of us congregated in front of the painting. A discussion (read argument) ensued about who among the four was the most beautiful. We all fiercely defended our choices, urging others to behold what we beheld.  As I left the party that night, I wrote down the artist’s name and made a mental note to myself that I must own that painting. Let’s pause this story here for now.

I tend to be very sensitive to scents. In fact many are the times I have put on perfume or scented lotions and left the house only to turn back around to wash it off as I could not stand the smell – no matter how pleasant. Just about the only scent I can mildly tolerate is a vanilla-based scent. One day I met with a friend of mine for coffee and she smelled absolutely divine. I of course wasted no time inquiring what she had on. She told me what it was and I knew I had to get it. She also gave me a little sample to take home with me. Let’s also pause this story here for now.

Unpause Girls… Around five years after that party, God blessed us with a house of our own. After we moved in, I looked at the living room wall and decided that would be the perfect place to display my African beauties. I took my computer and consulted my know-it-all friend, Google. The results I saw were disheartening: sold out, discontinued, no longer in print, unavailable… My heart sank as link after link dashed my hopes of ever owning my girls. I read somewhere once that the best place to hide a dead body is page two of Google search results. No one ever goes beyond page one. Well, over the next few days, I bravely trudged through the uninhabited abyss that is Google results page 2, 3, 4 …11, 12, 13 … and just when all hope was fading, there, on the earth’s underbelly that is page 14, was the most beautiful sight! Someone was selling the painting! And even more remarkable, they lived close to my office! I excitedly pulled out my phone to dial the number but stopped short when I realized it was 4 o’clock in the morning! I’d been up all night searching! I could barely wait for sunrise. The seller laughed through our phone conversation – he had never seen anyone so desperate to throw money at him! We eventually met and I got my painting. Aaah, at last! My girls, defiantly gorgeous as ever, finally graced my living room wall; a most prized possession indeed. Despite all the sold-out nay doors slammed in my face, I would not be denied, I would not be discouraged. I wanted the painting and did all within my power to get it.

Unpause Lotion… My sample was now over. I had used it so sparingly that it lasted me a few months. I had used it like cologne, dabbing a little on my neck on special occasions. I walked into the mall and made a beeline for the store, ready to purchase my own bottle. To my dismay they didn’t have it; it was seasonal and they had stopped selling it. They asked me to check back in the fall. Well, I checked back and was informed that they were not bringing back the scent – it was discontinued. I searched online and was met with ‘sold out’ signs everywhere. It has been about five years now but I’ve never stopped looking, never stopped hoping that the store would one day bring back the scent. Every once in a while I pop into the store and ask if they have it or something close to it – and the answer is sadly always no.

When we give your lives to Christ, the Bible tells us that the old is gone and behold the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17). You were bought at a price (the precious blood of Jesus). Although you are sold out to Jesus, the enemy of your soul doesn’t stop trying to lure you away from righteous living. As 1 Peter 5:8 warns us, Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Cor. 10:12 further warns us: Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

1 Peter 5:9 urges us to stand firm against the enemy and be strong in our faith. Regrettably, at multiple junctures in my Christian walk, I have been like that painting of the African girls; I have not stood firm; I have not remained sold-out. When we entertain temptation and temporarily ‘put ourselves back on the shelf’, the enemy of our souls – who never tires in pursuing us – is only too happy to pounce and devour us. If we give the enemy an inch, he takes a mile. So what should we do if we’ve given in to temptation and have strayed away from how God would have us live? What then? Well, we shouldn’t remain in our sin; we shouldn’t remain in the enemy’s territory. The worst thing we can do is to let guilt and condemnation keep us from returning to God. 1 John 1:9 tells us that ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.’ ‘There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.‘ (Romans 8:1) So if we stray away, let’s not stay away. Instead, we should repent, ask God to forgive and cleanse us, and then we should carry on with the business of walking uprightly; steadied by God’s right hand; empowered by His Holy Spirit.

Like that elusive vanilla-scented lotion, how do we remain sold-out? How do we stay vigilant? Ephesians 6: 10-18 reminds us to put on the full armor of God: truth, righteousness, peace that comes from the Good News, faith, salvation, prayer, the sword of the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God; and after we’ve done all, to stand. We’re also asked to Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.1 Cor. 10:13 promises us this: The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure. Further, we can draw strength from this truth in 1 John 4:4: You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

We can indeed remain sold out. Am I completely sold out? Are you?

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