July 22, 2005

   I was at the mall doing some shopping the other day when I overheard a sales clerk ask, “May I help you?”  She must have asked six different shoppers this question within a matter of minutes and each time the answer was the same, “No thanks, I’m just looking.”  I don’t know if she was disappointed with the response, but I did appreciate her positive attitude.  To each person she was pleasant, cheerful, and presented a good contact for the store where she worked.  Her demeanor was a welcome relief from the often disrespectful attitude of people who act like you are intruding on their day when you want to purchase something.
   When you hear those words, “just looking” they can mean many things.  It can mean, “Go away, I don’t want you to bother me.”  It can mean, “Go away, I am not going to purchase anything here no matter how helpful you are.”  It can simply mean, “Thanks, but I’m just looking.”
   There are times in life when all of us are “just looking.”   There are times when we want to watch but don’t want to participate.  The said thing is when people spend their entire lives “just looking” but never connecting to the life given to us by God.   To go through life “just looking” means never developing a close relationship, never connecting to your community, never opening your heart to the heart of God and feeling the depth of God’s love and grace.
   God invites us to discover life, not just by looking at life, but by joining in the life offered to us through Jesus.  Life is God’s sacred gift and it can be enjoyed and full only when we are willing to connect to the source of life.  When we choose to accept all that God offers to us through Jesus, we find the abundant life he promises. 

Grace and Peace,

Richard