May
31
2017
The Copy Machine
Posted in Salvation 2 Comments
I have a confession.
Copy machines intimidate me.
It is a silly thing.
The intimidation is very real.
My daughter is an intern this summer.
She is a mercy ministry intern for a non-profit organization.
She is living on the outskirts of the city of Philadelphia with the other interns.
The interns serve in different groups that will minister to the people in the community.
As a Mercy Ministry intern, she will be helping at the local crisis pregnancy center.
The interns will make sandwiches and bring them to the city to feed the homeless.
They will be working at the local food bank.
They will also help at Kids Camp one day a week.
It will be a very busy summer.
It will b a summer of growth.
It will be a summer where her comfort zone will be stretched.
It will be a summer of learning more about God and how to serve Him by serving others.
My daughter had to raise financial support for the summer.
Part of that support will be her salary and living expenses.
The other part will go to the ministry itself.
Support letters were written and sent a while ago.
My daughter wrote a thank you note, grateful for the kind response to her letter.
Before she left, she made sure that all the envelopes were addressed and stamped.
The thank-you note was signed and copies were to be made.
I said that I would insert the letters into the envelopes and mail them for her.
If copy machines were like they used to be, I would not have a problem.
However, you need an instruction manual to operate the high tech copy machines of today.
Do you want it collated?
Do you want it stapled?
I just want to make copies.
Letter size or legal size?
White or colored paper?
Single side or double sided?
Usually when I make copies for the Bible study I teach, someone at the UPS store does it for me.
In minutes, all the correct buttons are pushed on the high tech machine.
In seconds, my original shoots out and is handed back to me.
Seconds later the first copy is handed to me to check and approve.
I knew that I needed thirty copies of my daughter’s note.
I was all ready to ask one of the employees to make the copies for me.
Until I walked into the UPS store.
I never saw such a long line.
There were only two people working behind the counter.
Every person had a difficult package to ship.
Some came with no packaging at all, wanting the UPS workers to do it for them.
Totally understandable, except this was lunch hour.
I made a mental note never to come to the UPS store over a lunch hour ever again.
I decided to try to make the copies myself.
I walked gingerly to one of the high tech copy machines.
I walked as if I knew what I was doing; but I had absolutely no idea.
I saw buttons below the touchscreen.
I saw more options than I could comprehend.
I just wanted thirty copies of a small thank you note on 8 1/2 x 11 white paper.
It seemed pretty straight forward to me.
I either had to walk out and come back another time or tackle this myself.
There was a bit of saving face, I must admit.
There was the feeling of at least twenty eyes on me.
Does the original go under the lid, or does it get placed on the top ready to shoot through?
I watched the UPS worker make the copies for me from a distance.
I had no idea what buttons he pushed or where he touched the touchscreen.
I took a deep breath.
I placed the original on the top but did not know if it went face up or face down.
I could feel my face and neck getting red like it always does.
I decided to put the thank-you note face up.
I thought I would try one copy and hope for the best.
I pushed start, the only button that stood out to me.
The original thank you note flew into the machine faster than the blink of an eye.
I heard a noise and then a click.
I looked under the machine at the tray and saw a piece of paper.
There it was, a perfect copy.
I did it.
What did the UPS worker push every time he made copies for me?
He would do an elaborate dance with his fingers along the touchscreen.
I did no such thing.
I put the original on top once again.
I saw the word COPIES on the screen and decided to push it.
I was able to enter the number of copies I needed.
I pushed start and the original shot through.
I heard noises and clicks.
The tray was filling up with white papers.
All of a sudden the noises and clicks stopped.
I had thirty-one copies of my daughter’s thank you note.
I turned and saw that the line had gotten even longer.
I stood behind a girl who was mailing a textbook.
We were both behind men who were sending heavy packages that they helped lift onto the scale.
At least six people were behind me with more coming every minute.
We waited.
Everyone was calm.
A few people walked in the door and walked right back out again.
I stood holding my folder with thirty-one copies and waited like everyone else.
After about fifteen minutes, it was finally my turn.
I approached the counter and said, I just have thirty-one copies.
You want me to make you thirty-one copies, he said looking back at the line.
No, I made the copies myself. I just want to pay you for them, I said proudly.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Acts 2:21)
We make it so hard.
We act as if there are buttons and a high-tech touchscreen necessary for salvation.
We make things so difficult when God made it quite simple.
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and call on His name.
Salvation is a work of the Lord.
We bring nothing to the equation but our sin.
The hard part is afterwards.
The hard part is actually living the Christian life.
People have it backwards; they think that all the work is done beforehand in order to be saved.
The hard work comes after salvation as we learn to live according to God’s Word.
We will never perfect our Christian walk this side of heaven.
However, with the help of the Holy Spirit we can live our life to the glory of God our Father.
Thank you for your delightful story today.
Anne,
I am delighted that you were blessed.
I hope you enjoy other blog posts as well.
Gina