what's the weirdest thing you've ordered?

From all of us here at Calvary – I want to wish you a very merry Christmas full of the presence of Christ, his laughter and joy.

In today’s Christmas devotional, I’d like to ask you a sort of funny question: What is the strangest thing you’ve ever ordered online?

While likely not the strangest thing I’ve ever ordered online, I do order all of my office supplies from Amazon. I was running out of index cards and in desperate need of more. I was so desperate for them that instead of ordering them through Amazon’s one-day delivery I downloaded the Amazon Now app. It promised me in bold letters across the screen, 'delivery in one hour.'

After downloading the app, I quickly searched index cards and found only one option. No problem. Since I don’t want to be in a situation like this again, I thought, I’ll just order five packs. An hour later, I was greeted with my delivery. The only problem? I had forgotten to check the size in the product description. Instead of regular index cards, I received five packets of the world’s smallest index cards. It was an absolute disaster.

I remember being so mad at myself for rushing to get the cards that not only had I forgotten to check the dimensions, but I had also been so impatient that I was unwilling to wait for the cards I usually order on Amazon.

Have you ever found yourself in the same position – perhaps a little upset at yourself for being impatient and rushing to get something at the expense of doing it the right way?

I’ve been reminded of this story because in our own faith, how often do we take shortcuts that ultimately hurt our spiritual growth?

Rather than read God’s word – it’s okay to just read an inspiring Christian article. I don’t need to attend small group tonight. Instead, I can just call someone and get a summary of the discussion. It’s okay if I don’t pray – God knows what I’m going to say anyway.

A simple, seemingly insignificant, misplaced Amazon order is a reminder for each of us to not take shortcuts in our faith – because shortcuts stunt our spiritual growth.