You knew it was coming!
February 23rd, 2010
…you knew it was coming (the “you” will know and I will inform the rest of us).
Acts 3:2-5
And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
KJV
The lame man looked upon Peter and John and expected something, after all, he had been coming to the same spot every day. What he expected was some type of handout in the form of money, and this obviously was his way of sustenance. So, what else would he expect when Peter and John garnered his attention? One of the most riveting classes I took at CSUB was marketing. I haven’t forgot the 4 P’s: Price, Promotion, Place, and Product. Those four things are at the heart of every business and they must be in a proper balance for success. You might have a great price, promotion, and product, but if your in the wrong place you might not succeed, that is unless you are a destination place with a rich history or something akin to it (think Luigi’s here in B-Town). That class also taught me that one’s goal should be to EXCEED the expectation of customers. Doing so creates buzz and return visits, and ultimately builds a customer base. Peter and John by introducing the power of Jesus Christ, exceeded the man’s paltry expectations of money and he walked, leaped, and praised God, as he was healed. Now, there are a few rabbit trails here…one is that some, like the crowds who witnessed the casting out of the devils from the man of the Gadarenes, are upset with the change even if it is for the good because they are so accustomed to a rote lifestyle, or because it upsets or infringes upon their livelihood. That subject is worthy of notation, but my interest is in when an expectation is not exceeded, but is NOT MET! Have you been there before? Maybe you bragged about a certain place to others only to walk away feeling a little chagrined because the expectation not only wasn’t exceeded, but the expectation itself was lacking.


Peyton and I spent some Father/Son time on the slopes of Mammoth mountain. It couldn’t have been better: great weather, lots of snow, clean air, etc….perfect, with one exception. Our companion wanted to be assured of lodging that would not include bugs, rodents, dirty linens, party noise…oh, man…the list was long. We were only staying one night, so it really didn’t matter to me…you sleep you get up the next day and you ski…motel 6 is fine. Anyway, the reservation was made and this place was supposed to be gem, so the expectations were high, very high. Well, when we pulled into the parking lot, Peyton said, “Dad, before you get out…is that a mouse right there against the building?” Oh, yeah. That mouse was part of the welcoming committee at this place, but hey, I’m not so persnickety to think it is impossible to see a mouse outside of a building, cold, shivering, and looking for a room as well. It was kinda funny though. Upon checking in; however, on a shelf behind the attendant was……..a big box of Decon! This place was a dive! Actually, actually, it really wasn’t that bad, but the expectation of what it was supposed to be….now that is what made it so funny. The refrigerator door wouldn’t open all the way because of the track in the closet, you could hear every footstep and the dogs in the place barking, the heralded restaurant in the basement smelled up the whole place, they made the bed over an orange (I think our companion purposely added to the comedy)…..absolutely, a laugher. Not because the place was really THAT bad, but because the hype didn’t measure up to what we experienced. I think that mouse drowned in the noisy hot tub on the second floor, down from our room.
Jesus Christ exceeds expectations, as duly noted by Peter, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee.” Expectations that really matter are exceeded in Christ, the other ones-the many occurrences in life that fall just a bit short (or REALLY fall short), well, we cry or laugh about them (sometimes both and sometimes we laugh so hard we cry). Although, I still feel a little bad about that shivering mouse.




































