“REED” This
Taco Tuesday
Most of us have probably heard the phrase “Taco Tuesday”, as many restaurants use it to try and encourage people to come into their establishments and get some cheap tacos for lunch or dinner on that day of the week. There is a certain establishment just down from the church in Redfern Village that has such specials each Tuesday. I, and some others, have enjoyed going there each week to enjoy some very good tacos. One thing I have often wondered is if the waiters and waitresses look forward to us coming. In my mind I’m thinking they are saying, “Oh boy, here come those guys that only come on Tuesdays to get cheap tacos and eat a bunch of our free chips and salsa.” Hopefully they are not saying this, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they did. Tuesday is the only day I usually think about going and eating there. They are good tacos, but if I go on another day, I’m not sure I want to spend the extra money for them since it’s not Tuesday. They are the same tacos on all the days, so why should I have to pay more just because it’s a day other than Tuesday? I’m sure the phrase is used and the special given to encourage more people to eat there. But I would also think it is used to encourage people to come back on other days as well. Yet for me, that seems to never happen. I only go there on that day of the week.
Good food that is cheap is always fun to find. I’m sure most of us try to find a bargain with anything we purchase. It’s good stewardship. I love the “Buy One Get One” special at the grocery store. But it’s not only for food. Why pay $50 for a shirt when you can get it for $25? Or why pay $75 for a pair of shoes when you can get them for $50? We all want to find good deals, no matter how or for what we are spending our money, as long as the product is good quality. There’s another phrase that we’ve all heard – “You get what you pay for.” Now, most of the time this phrase stands true, but there are many occasions where it has been proven wrong. It’s almost like Newton, the traveling salesman on The Andy Griffith Show, who said, “I happened to be at the right place at the right time.” Unfortunately for him, the furs he got and sold were not good quality. However, there are many ways to find good quality merchandise at very low prices. It just takes a little more work and searching, and possibly waiting for the sales to begin.
There is something of the highest quality that we never have to work at or search for or wait for to do. That’s spend time with our God. He is always ready to sit down with us and spend all the time we want to spend with Him, and it is always quality time well spent. He’s always listening and right there when we simply call His name. He is even already listening when we simply begin speaking to Him in our minds. He knows our thoughts and our needs before we ask (Ps.139:2, 4). And the quality of what we receive from Him can never be matched. God is always with us. He is always waiting to spend time with us. He is always wanting to spend time with us. He is always ready to give us His very best. And He has already paid the price for us to have that relationship with Him. It cost Him His Son on the cross, yet He was willing to pay that extremely high price because of His love. And His desire is simply to have a relationship with us. Our cost as His children is so minimal compared to all He has done. We simply turn to Him and answer His call.
“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” Revelation 3:20 NLT
We all need to spend more time with the Lord. We get caught up in all that’s going on around us that we forget to stop and commune with the One who is truly most important. I’m not going to say He is a “bargain” or a “good deal” because that cheapens who He is. Even though our salvation cost us nothing, we certainly didn’t “get what we paid for”, we got much, much more from Him. And the next time you see or think about “Taco Tuesday”, don’t just think about cheap tacos, let the phrase remind you of the great sacrifice God paid so you could have a relationship with Him. Then, spend more time with Him.
Bro. Paul Reed
Tuesday, February 15, 2022