What an odd title...wouldn't you say? An old tube of toothpaste, ready to throw away. Or is it? I don't know about you, but there have been more times than I like to remember when money was tighter than tight. When we had to go to social services in town and get help paying our electric bill, or stand in line for a food box and hope that all of the produce wasn't rotten. So, through all of that I learned how to be frugal. I can stretch a pound of hamburger to feed 5 for three nights. I don't necessarily have to anymore but that becomes engrained in you after awhile. I have met many who have lived through the depression who will never live through anything that rough again, but still live with that mentality.
I still have that thriftiness inside of me. I can get every last drop out of the detergent bottle. Cut open the lotion tube and get it cleaner than a whistle with nothing left inside. Take a toothpick and get all of that lipstick out of the container. And yes, get that toothpaste tube squeezed so flat that there isn't even air left in it. After all, you didn't really pay for the container, did you? You spent good money on the toothpaste that came IN the tube, not just for the tube itself. What are you going to do with that empty tube? Hang it on the wall as art? Ok, I have to admit, in some parts of society, that might just be considered art...just saying.
So back to that thought on toothpaste. You spent your hard earned money on the toothpaste so that you can keep your teeth clean, have a shiny smile and be able to go out there and earn more money to buy more toothpaste. There was a cost for that toothpaste. So you use it up. For me, as I said before, to the last hhaaaarrrrdddd squeeze worth, and then throw that tube away.
Take a moment to think of your life. The bible says we are just strangers here on earth. Sojourners, awaiting our time to go home. We live in this vessel we call a body. We go to work, or to school, or we are retired, or whatever. We live out our lives, then what happens with us after we are returned to our heavenly home that our Father has prepared for us? (John 14:2) These fragile vessels don't go with us, they are cast aside, hopefully fulfilling the purpose that they were intended for. Just like that toothpaste tube.
But, here in lies the rub...what was inside of our vessel was purchased with a price. A costly price that not one of us here on earth could possibly pay. The cost was the life of our Saviour, Jesus. He willingly laid down His life for us, that we might live a victorious, fulfilled life here on earth before we return to Him. He didn't just pay for the vessel, He paid for the soul and spirit inside of us. He paid for the disposable part of us, as well as the eternal part of us.
Think about that tube of toothpaste. It took some squeezing to get that last little glob out. It took pressure. I am sure an engineer or someone smarter than I could tell you how many pounds per square inch it takes to (big word alert) extrude that toothpaste out. I don't just give it a little squish here and say, ok all done. I probably stick my tongue out as I am squeezing and rolling that tube up tighter than tight to feel that I have gotten the most for my money.
I want to live my life in this frail vessel like I use that tube of toothpaste. I want to know that the price that was paid for me was not wasted. I want to live to the fullest, to quit being afraid. To let the pressure of life, the hard times (that God promised He would be with me through) mold me and make me into the woman He destined me to be. I want to say at the end of my life, God you used me all up, every last drop...and then I will hear from Him, "well done, good and faithful servant".
I talked about frugality before. The one thing I don't want to be frugal with is the life that He has gifted me with. All of it. The laughter, the tears. The joy, the sorrow. The life and the death. The love that He has placed inside of me. ALL of it comes from Him, can be used by Him and returns to Him. Don't be afraid of it. Embrace it and the One who gave it to you. Because unlike that useless old used up tube of toothpaste, YOU are a work of art. The handiwork of the Maker of the universe. The craftsmanship of the Creator of all things. The apple of His eye. The One who love you abundantly and boundlessly; as it says in Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by his love; He will exult over you with loud singing."
Picture that the next time things are hard. When you feel all used up and disposable...remember He EXULTS over you with singing!! And to Him you are priceless!
I still have that thriftiness inside of me. I can get every last drop out of the detergent bottle. Cut open the lotion tube and get it cleaner than a whistle with nothing left inside. Take a toothpick and get all of that lipstick out of the container. And yes, get that toothpaste tube squeezed so flat that there isn't even air left in it. After all, you didn't really pay for the container, did you? You spent good money on the toothpaste that came IN the tube, not just for the tube itself. What are you going to do with that empty tube? Hang it on the wall as art? Ok, I have to admit, in some parts of society, that might just be considered art...just saying.
So back to that thought on toothpaste. You spent your hard earned money on the toothpaste so that you can keep your teeth clean, have a shiny smile and be able to go out there and earn more money to buy more toothpaste. There was a cost for that toothpaste. So you use it up. For me, as I said before, to the last hhaaaarrrrdddd squeeze worth, and then throw that tube away.
Take a moment to think of your life. The bible says we are just strangers here on earth. Sojourners, awaiting our time to go home. We live in this vessel we call a body. We go to work, or to school, or we are retired, or whatever. We live out our lives, then what happens with us after we are returned to our heavenly home that our Father has prepared for us? (John 14:2) These fragile vessels don't go with us, they are cast aside, hopefully fulfilling the purpose that they were intended for. Just like that toothpaste tube.
But, here in lies the rub...what was inside of our vessel was purchased with a price. A costly price that not one of us here on earth could possibly pay. The cost was the life of our Saviour, Jesus. He willingly laid down His life for us, that we might live a victorious, fulfilled life here on earth before we return to Him. He didn't just pay for the vessel, He paid for the soul and spirit inside of us. He paid for the disposable part of us, as well as the eternal part of us.
Think about that tube of toothpaste. It took some squeezing to get that last little glob out. It took pressure. I am sure an engineer or someone smarter than I could tell you how many pounds per square inch it takes to (big word alert) extrude that toothpaste out. I don't just give it a little squish here and say, ok all done. I probably stick my tongue out as I am squeezing and rolling that tube up tighter than tight to feel that I have gotten the most for my money.
I want to live my life in this frail vessel like I use that tube of toothpaste. I want to know that the price that was paid for me was not wasted. I want to live to the fullest, to quit being afraid. To let the pressure of life, the hard times (that God promised He would be with me through) mold me and make me into the woman He destined me to be. I want to say at the end of my life, God you used me all up, every last drop...and then I will hear from Him, "well done, good and faithful servant".
I talked about frugality before. The one thing I don't want to be frugal with is the life that He has gifted me with. All of it. The laughter, the tears. The joy, the sorrow. The life and the death. The love that He has placed inside of me. ALL of it comes from Him, can be used by Him and returns to Him. Don't be afraid of it. Embrace it and the One who gave it to you. Because unlike that useless old used up tube of toothpaste, YOU are a work of art. The handiwork of the Maker of the universe. The craftsmanship of the Creator of all things. The apple of His eye. The One who love you abundantly and boundlessly; as it says in Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by his love; He will exult over you with loud singing."
Picture that the next time things are hard. When you feel all used up and disposable...remember He EXULTS over you with singing!! And to Him you are priceless!