It wasn’t till about 1984 that I got to use my first IBM PC (notice my shameless hook for Boca Raton people). Previous to that, I thought I was hot stuff when I got my hands on an old Timex-Sinclair unit with an old TV the school let me have. Then, the Commodore 64 came to our library, and then finally I was hired at a finance company where I had my own PC.
All that to say that I thought myself a reasonably legitimate “early adopter.” And, for a decade or two, I tried to be one of the first to get the latest, a 286 or a 386 or a 40 meg hard drive, or whatever. Sound equipment held a similar allure, as did cars.
All of that has gone by the wayside. I still use a 14 year old laptop (the one I’m typing on is much newer than that). My car is fifteen years old. My sound system is of equal vintage. These are signs of age, I suppose, but I would say that since Windows 95, things have only gotten incrementally, not revolutionarily, better.
So, you may not find it hard to believe that it was just this week that I walked into my first Buc-ee’s. Buc-ee’s has been around since 2003. In Texas they built a travel center that, and I quote Wikipedia here: “The New Braunfels location is the largest convenience store in the world at 68,000 square feet. The store features 120 fueling positions, 1,000 parking spots, 64 ice freezers, 83 toilets, 31 cash registers, four Icee machines, and 80 fountain dispensers.”
Now, the one I went to on I-75 wasn’t THAT big, but let me tell you, it was huge! Gas pumps as far as the eye could see, once inside Coke machines as far as the eye could see, and oh, the bathrooms had stalls as far as the eye could see. If WaWa and Cracker Barrell got married, and moved to Texas, this is what would, or did, emerge. My free advertising here will stop at me saying the gas was way cheaper than other gas stations along the highway, and the bathrooms were worthy of a high-end restaurant.
As I wandered around this gargantuan convenience store, I wondered about where I stood with the “early adopter” thing. Considering Buc-ee’s only opened new stores as Covid-19 was taking over, I don’t feel too late to the party. But as we waited in line to pay, I wondered about being more of a lemming – following the crowd wherever it gathers. I suppose that’s always a dilemma – are you trendy or a minion?
In terms of faith, I want to be what is called a “first follower.” The idea in leadership circles about this is that there is somebody with a novel idea or action. If nobody is following, they are just “doing their own thing.” But as soon as one person joins, it’s now a group. And the first follower becomes a recruiter for the leader – and in that sense becomes a leader too.
This is what I want to do with Jesus. I want Him to act first. I want Him to lead. And it is mine to follow. My desire is to be the first to follow. Not that I am going to beat all the disciples that have preceded me – no, it’s when Jesus calls me, when Jesus calls us, for whatever it is that He wants to accomplish, I want to respond immediately, and say Yes!
Are you saying “yes” to Jesus? Is He asking for anything? I can assure you, He is inviting you to follow Him. Probably not to Buc-ee’s though.
Not impressed with their cookies,
Craig
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
Philippians 3:17