God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. (Ephesians 1:5, NLT)
When I play golf, I love a snack during the round. My favorites are peanuts (for protein) and chocolate (for yumminess). So peanut M&Ms give me just what I’m looking for.
When you hear the abbreviated expression, M&Ms, you probably think of the candy, too—even if you don’t eat them. But not long ago, I learned that M&M can stand for something meaningful in my service to Christ.
When I first started with Links Players more than 12 years ago, a pastor friend told me, “Dereck, you are in sales. God is in management.” That made sense to me. Most of my professional career had been in sales. It helped me, too, because when I would share the good news of Jesus with friends and loved ones, I would be hard on myself when I could not close the deal. Then I came to Ephesians 1:5, and I discovered that God is the deal-closer. In fact, he “decided in advance to adopt us,” so he had opened the deal long before I ever showed up! I just needed to do my part by telling people what Jesus had done for me and what he could do for them.
With God opening and closing the deal, people will come to Jesus even when our marketing efforts aren’t polished.More recently, I started spending time with a successful marketing executive. He broadened my thinking when he told me that I am not just in sales but in marketing. Sales is only a part of marketing. In marketing, the entire brand comes to life before people’s eyes.
How does this work in the kingdom of God? Well, you have probably heard it put this way: Our whole lives are on display. It’s not just “preaching the gospel” that gets people’s attention. It’s what we say and do every day.
This may scare you. You may think, I’m not at all perfect. How are people going to see God through me? But here’s the M&M key: We are marketing; God is management. He’ll take what we put out there and turn it into a payoff for his kingdom. With God opening and closing the deal, people will come to Jesus even when our marketing efforts aren’t polished. Testimonies beat sales pitches when it comes to marketing. Let your life be a testimony.
Finally, we can’t miss the end of today’s verse. It gives God pleasure to adopt people into his family. Surely, you have known men and women who have adopted little ones. They always love it, and God does too! My marketing friend reminded me that if I’m out there presenting Jesus to others, God himself will put it in their hearts to seek him and believe in him. That sure takes the pressure off me! And it excites me to be doing work that supports the very thing that gives God pleasure!
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Dereck Wong
February 10, 2020
Copyright 2020 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.