A Moose Moment

A MOOSE MOMENT

Several years ago, the Youth Pastor in my church took a number of our young people to Canada on a "Wilderness" trip. God did some awesome things in their lives, including Pastor Jason's. Shortly after he returned, he spoke at a Sunday morning worship service. He talked about the first moose he saw while he was in Canada. Never having seen one "in the flesh," so to speak, he was awed by how magnificent a creature the moose was.

During that week, every time he saw a moose he felt the same thrill and amazement as he did at that first encounter. However, others on the trip were kind of the opinion, "seen one moose, seen 'em all." His message that Sunday morning was taken from Ephesians 2. While he had several "points" to his sermon, the one to which he kept returning was the amazement and thrill he had experienced when he first came to know Christ as his Savior. And what had happened to it? His reaction to his salvation was very much like that of the group's to the appearances of the moose (or might it be mooses?) all week. Ho-hum. No longer did Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection, nor the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in his life day by day, cause him to stop in amazement and reflect on the greatness of God and our salvation.

Now, lest you think that our Youth Pastor is totally off base, be honest with yourself. How many times do you thank God for the gift of His Son and His ever-present work in your life as a matter of fact? Something that we -- I -- take for granted. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast." Now those verses are AMAZING. Think about it - nothing, nothing at all about our salvation has to do with what we say or do. God gives us the greatest gift ever conceived, and all we need to do is say "yes." But once that takes place, how easy it is for us to slip back into our ruts and take His work of grace for granted. My prayer for you - and for me - today is that we will encounter Jesus Christ in a "moose moment." Recapture the thrill of that first time we responded to His love and grace, fall in love with Him all over again and never, ever take His grace for granted. -- Lynn Randall is Director of Human Resources at America's KESWICK