But Wait, There’s More!

Today’s guest blogger is David Duncan who blogs at David’s Daily Dose.

David is an elementary school teacher and ordained Baptist minister. He lives in the Midwestern United States with his wife and their Miniature Schnauzer, Cooper. The Duncan’s have three grown sons.

Does anyone else remember those old commercials for the Ginsu knife? I must have been ten or eleven years old the first time I saw one.

A guy uses a Ginsu to cut through nails, a soda can and a radiator hose, then picks up a tomato and slices it paper thin.

If only I’d been old enough for a credit card. They sold me with the radiator hose. Forget food, this ornery boy just wanted to tear stuff up!

But the coolest part of the commercial was how they kept sweetening the deal:

“This surgical grade steel knife can be yours for only $19.95. But wait, there’s more! For a limited time only, we’ll double your order. That’s right, two knives for the price of one! Just pay separate shipping and handling. But that’s not all! Order within the next ten minutes, and we’ll include a deluxe Ginsu paring knife for free.”

A countdown timer appeared on the screen…

The Apostle Paul has a “But wait, there’s more!” moment in his letter to the Romans. It happens about halfway through chapter five. After highlighting the fact that God demonstrates his love by sending Christ to die for a world full of unworthy sinners (Romans 5:8), Paul starts dropping exclamation points like a full-on salesman.

“Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by His life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”—Romans 5:9-11 (NIV) (emphasis mine)

It’s clear Paul is excited about the fact that salvation through the blood of Christ is much more than an insurance policy. Jesus is both author AND finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). And we are called to follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:20-21).

It’s fine to ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?”, but even better to investigate (through the gift of the scriptures) what he DID! Plus, the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit means we can literally have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). Because of these blessings, and many more, we can walk as Jesus did (1 John 2:6).

This must be the kind of ‘much more’ Paul was thinking about when he kept sweetening the deal in Romans chapter five. Hallelujah!

By the way, did you know Ginsu knives are still being made and sold today? After forty something years, you’d think everybody already has one— “their very own piece of indestructible surgical grade cutlery that never needs sharpening. All for the low price of $19.95”

But wait, there’s more!

“Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did.”—1 John 2:6 (NIV)

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I case you were curious, here is one of the original commercials.