One-Legged Pants

One night on my way home from the track beside McCant's I made an unscheduled stop at the grocery store to pick up a few odds and ends for supper.

When time came to pay I was exactly 36 cents short of the total, and not having the debit card with me I asked the cashier to take the cat food off my ticket.

There was an older gentleman in line behind me ... and without a word he handed the cashier a dollar bill to cover my purchase. Talk about turning red-faced and getting a lump in your throat.

I thanked him profusely, which only seemed to embarrass him, because all he said was, "You've got to feed your cats."

That little gesture of kindness has stayed with me in a big way.

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I'm not exactly in touch with the latest fashion trends; I only know some of the ones I've seen recently look two exits past silly ... yet people will rush down to the mall and pay most any price to have whatever's newest and The Latest.

I started wondering, what if some chic Manhattan super-star designer turned the fashion world on its head by introducing One-Legged Pants (with a snappy name, like Solo's) in his spring collection and started the latest, craziest fashion buzz?

You and I both know that the day after Oprah appeared on national TV adorned in one-legged pants, 75% of America's TV-watching public would be standing in line to the parking lot to buy a pair (a solo?) for themselves.

And anyone who insisted on wearing traditional two-legged pants would be immediately shunned, ridiculed for their out of date fashions and for being out of touch with the latest trends.

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Gosh when that nice man paid my bill back at the grocery store, somehow it never occured to me to turn around and rush back into the store to grab a few more items, just because he'd already paid what I owed.

Some Christians have that attitude though.

Wearing one-legged pants just to be fashionable would contradict my personal experiences as well as my belief that wearing two-legged pants gives me more freedom than one-legged pants ... no matter which designer's name is sewed across the back pocket.

Because I know I have two real legs, no matter what they say in New York and no matter what's hot in LA.

Folks who find fault with Christiantity often argue that our faith places too many restrictions on what we can and can't do, implying that we believe strict adherence to a list of legalistic rules can bridge what separates us from God.

(On the other end of the spectrum, every time I see a wild-eyed televangelist promising that "God wants you to be a millionaire!" or even "Jesus wants to bless you with a new car!" I start getting queasy about what they seem to be suggesting The Abundant Life really means.

I don't think the path following Christ is called Easy Street nor is it cushioned with rose petals or paved with gold coins, nor do I believe that Christ ever said "Start up your Cadillac, and follow me." Sometimes, lots of times, following Christ can be extremely difficult ... particularly when we approach unfamiliar territory and his direction seems entirely different than the paths we took in our pasts.)

For believers who know Christ paid our debts in full, continuing to accept sin and choosing any path except his is no more of an option than accepting moral relativism or any of the world's other one-legged pants: God's commandments do not include the words "It depends," "If it's convenient" or "Whatever works for you."

We want to stop sinning because our debt's already been paid and we follow his commandments not from fear, but from faith and love ... and know the abundant life as a result.

God's love is not a trend nor does it ever go out of style; it's eternal, ever-lasting and real.