For Sale Or Lease

I saw the sign again today, for sale or lease. I cannot count the number of times I have seen the same sign as we search for a new church location.  Leasing is temporary with modest upfront cost.  Buying a building requires financial stability with a sterling credit history.   Your signature on the contract indicates your commitment for the long-term.  The consequences of breaking a lease pale in comparison to walking away from a contract.   Leasers are expected to come and go. Owners are sold out. 

Daniel 3:16-18

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

The three Hebrew boys were dedicated to God.  They refused to worship King Nebuchadnezzar despite imminent death.  Their faith was rock solid.  They were invested in God until death.  Those that bowed to the king were willing to deny their Lord to escape the king’s wrath. Their faith was temporary.

We are like buildings.  Some of us are for lease, following God when it is convenient and or beneficial.  Others are for sale, dependable and faithful despite dire circumstances.  Sold out Christians are able to say as Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, “But if not”, I will still serve God.  When the world looks at your “building”, what will they see?  It depends on whether you are for sale or lease. The choice is yours.