The Best Advertisement


Today I watched a little of Rachel Ray's show as I was cleaning my family room. I think the theme of the show had something to do with audience or viewer requests. So they were showing segments that had most been requested by viewers over time.

One of the segments was about an individual, in this case a tv news anchorwoman and mom, testing out several new products at home and then letting the audience know what she thought about those new gadgets or beauty products. In between dusting various items in my family room, I think I picked up that she tested some stick on eye-liner (hmmm...), a nail polish pen, some sort of gadget that sits in your stove pot and stirs for you while you do other things, and a teeth whitener wipee. Well now.

At any rate, the supposition of the segment, of course, was that if someone else we can see and hear and like appreciates a new product, we're more likely to give it a try as well. If this cute, sophisticated, news woman likes the nail pen, the stick on eye-liner and the pot stirrer, I could like it too.



Marketers are smart like that. They know the best advertisement for any product is a satisfied customer. And I buy that, don't you? I'm much more likely indeed to buy something or even look in the store for something if I know someone else who is raving about how much they like it. (Except for stick on eye-liner.)



Better yet, if I see the product working for that person -- making their skin look younger, causing them to lose weight, helping them manage their time better, improving their cooking skills, or whitening their teeth to a dazzling sheen -- I'm quite likely to inquire about it and head to the store!



By the same token, if I know someone who's going on and on about a new exercise program but they still look like a roly poly in my eyes, then I'm not only less likely to subscribe to that program, but I might even stay as far away from it as I possibly can.

Or if someone sings the praises of a their hairdresser but their hair looks butchered, I probably won't be calling for an appointment.


And that brings me to the thought that crossed my mind as I read in Psalm 126:1-3:

When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing,
Then they said among the nations,
"The Lord has done great things for them."
The Lord has done great things for us,
And we are glad.

Isn't that the way it is? When God does something especially grand for us, people notice our contentment, our laughter, our singing of His praises. And they might even say to one another, "Boy, the Lord has done something great for her." And indeed He did.

At such moments we are great living billboards for God's goodness, grace, mercies, love, and power. We are advertising to the world, or at least our little worlds, that we have a mighty and faithful God.

But what about today? Maybe today you haven't received any special answer to prayer, any huge revelation, or an extra dose of grace. So is there any reason to rejoice? Any reason to give a positive endorsement to your God?

You bet there is.
And so, others ought to be looking at me, seeing my laughter, hearing my singing, and knowing that "The Lord has done great things" for her.


And when I'm asked about it, I should say with booming assurance, "The Lord has done great things for me, and I am glad...so glad." 

What about you? For what are you glad today? And how's the advertising for that good thing going today? What message are you sending the world about God, who He is, and what He can do?


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