Praise Him

TITLE: Praise Him
DATE: January 12, 2019
TEXT: Isaiah 52: 2b-4 – ESV - he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,  and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;  and as one from whom men hide their face he was despised, and we esteemed him not
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The average cashier’s salary at Wal-Mart is just a little Over $9.00 an hour. Remember that number; it will be important later on.

John Lopez, Jr. is 19-years old and he is a cashier at the Wal-Mart in Princeton, Texas.

The time of which I speak was right before Christmas and many of the Wal-Mart patrons were finishing their holyday shopping and laying in provisions that would allow them to produce feasts fit for a king. It goes without saying there were lines at all the checkout stands…including that of John Lopez, Jr.

Then occurred an event which would make his line even longer.

A woman at the front of the line had put all her grocery items on the belt to be scanned. As the last of them had crossed to the  bagger, the register showed a total of $110.00. The lady knew she didn’t have that kind of cash, and she began to panic… in a very embarrassed, and loud, sort of way.

What happened next was reported by Laci Simms, another shopper who was in that same line. Later on  this is what she wrote about what she had seen:“I just witnessed this ‘kid’ pay for a cart of merchandise for a woman in obvious distress about her inability to pay. She was a few people ahead of us and when she had trouble paying her bill, he stepped in and told her if she’d wait, he would pay her total. Ya’ll, it was $110 dollars!”

CALCULATION TIME: $110.00 BILL DIVIDED BY $10.00/HOUR = 11 HOURS OF WORK!

Laci took John’s picture and posted it on Facebook. Along with the photo she wrote “If you have never had the pleasure of going through John’s checkout line at the Princeton Wal-Mart, please seek him out on your next visit. He is always singing, upbeat, courteous, joyful and efficient. He just renewed my faith in humanity and the generation we are raising! Everyone share this so the world knows what a blessing John is to our community!”

Well, apparently a lot of people had been impressed with John in the past… and they added their comments. One of those folks who recognized John was so moved, he decided to give people the opportunity to thank John. He began a GoFundMe page in a desire to raise $1,000.
Before the page was completed, it had raised $34,000.00.

But things don’t always work out that way. People aren’t always thanked for the good they do.

More than 2,000 years ago God’s Son entered this world to seek and save the lost. He worked with God’s people of the promise as He fulfilled the role of Messiah. He healed the sick; forgave repentant sinners; resurrected the dead, taught multitudes about God’s grace and fed thousands with a few loaves of bread and fish.

Nobody took His picture; nobody sang of His glory on Facebook; nobody set up a GoFundMe page for Him. What they did do was call Him names; lie about Him;, whip Him, spit on Him, give Him some illegal trials and nail Him to a cross where He died carrying the sins of humankind.

All this Jesus suffered so our debt, the debt we couldn’t pay on our own, would be de wiped out. All this He endured so we might be forgiven and saved.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, grant that I may in the life I lead and the things I say, pointing to the Redeemer Who has offered Himself as my saving Substitute. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.

Today’s devotion was inspired by various articles, amongst which is the one written by McKinley Corbley for Good News Network on December 27, 2018. Those who wish may check out this link which was, at the time of writing, fully active: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/community-raises-30k-to-thank-19-year-old-walmart-cashier-in-texas/

The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann, one of my long-ago confirmands. He is singing with three brothers. This song comes from the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html