My friends bought a used mattress from Craigslist. For the un-initiated, Craiglist is kind of like Ebay, but it’s less polished and you have to go pick up whatever you buy. Expectations were high—they were confident of a good deal.
But expectations collided with reality when they went to get the mattress. The way they tell the story, I can only imagine that Chewbacca opened the door—a really sweaty Chewbacca who chain-smoked. They bought the mattress anyway.
The aroma of disappointment filled the van—that and the smell of a wet, chain-smoking wookie. My friend looked at his wife and said, “You want to take it straight to the dump?” She thanked him with a simple “yes.” So they drove to the dump and paid to unburden the mattress they had just driven thirty minutes to buy!
The deal they made was so bad, they were relieved to be able to end it with a little extra cash. In Ephesians 2:1-3, we’re facing a lousy deal and it’s all our fault. That’s what makes 2:4-5 such a relief—God doesn’t stick us with the stinky mattress. But that just scratches the surface.
