Seize the Tundra

This past Saturday at Ikea, there was a big “Seize the Days” sale which was amazing. Their laminated flooring (Tundra) was on sale for like 60% off. This happened to be exactly what we were looking to get for our church’s Sierra Barn and at this sale price, we would have saved close to $3000! (And without coupons or mail-in rebates!) So I seized the day and acted on it quickly. I immediately got on the phone with our color scheme experts at Gracepoint Fellowship Church: Antique is 1st choice, Medium Brown 2nd, Oak 3rd.

“Offer good while supplies last.” I called the West Sacramento store to confirm inventory and they had 326 boxes of the Antique. We only needed 175 boxes. No problem.

“Limit 25 boxes per person.” I quickly rounded up 7 volunteers to get our 175 boxes and arranged enough cargo space to haul back a deal that would bring a smile to all the angels above! A quick back-of-the-envelope calculation told me that 2 minivans would suffice. We rounded up two minivans, one truck, and one Honda CR-V for good measure. No problem.

“Store opens at 10am.” Our team got there at 9:20am. As a part of the Seize the Days promotion, they were giving out free breakfast from 9:30am-10:30am. But I knew that their free breakfast is valued at $2, so I called and told them: “Guys, don’t be tempted out of line because of the free breakfast. Stay calm. Take deep breaths. Stay in line. Your mission is to get the Tundra. Do NOT be tempted by that $2 breakfast. Do not fail to seize the Tundra!!” They all stayed in line for the opening ceremonies. No problem.

Then I get a call from Sam at 10:08am: “Houston, we have a problem…we only got 5 boxes.” I couldn’t believe it. And over the background noise which sounded like a feeding frenzy at an animal farm, I heard his dejected voice sputter, “Sorry Pastor Jonathan…there was pushing, shoving, people screaming ‘MINE!’ and before we knew it, it was all gone. We only got 5 boxes. Sorry–Mission failed…”

No problem. If that was the case, I’m glad that our team had the sense of mind to not cheapen their Christian identity and get in on the riot to get that Tundra. Had our team pushed, shoved, and yelled, they might have gotten a few more boxes, but it would have cost them a portion of their Christian character in exchange. Sometimes, we have to know what’s more valuable…

This also made me think a bit. When was the last time people got that excited about studying the Bible, about morning devotion times, about seizing the day and serving God with such passion and gusto? And God offers something infinitely more valuable than this Tundra flooring–the precious gospel is available to everyone at the foot of the cross. No need to stand in a long line. No need to fight for it. It’s free. It’s God’s grace. It’s amazing that people don’t seize the day for that…