You Are More Than Welcome!

So I went on a Daddy-Daughter date with my 6 year old, Abby, the other night to McDonalds.  It seems that McDonalds is the origin of all kinds of randomness that I feel compelled to write about.

We get up to the counter, Abby and I order and then it happens...I tell the lady at the cash register, "Thank you" and she responds, "You are more than welcome!"

I'll admit it, I have said that very same thing.  But think about it, what does that actually mean?

If you are more than welcome are you welcome and a half?

Is that like being welcome with a coupon or a rebate?

At McDonalds, I would think it should mean something like, "You are welcome and here is a free ice cream cone!"

"Why am I getting a free ice cream cone?"

"Well, its because you are more than welcome, of course!"

The world would be a better place if we got a bonus for saying thank you.

I can think of some places that I would love to be "more than welcome:"

The bank

Pizza Hut

Thanksgiving dinner

The bank

I love the concept of being more than welcome.  I just wish people really meant it when they said it.

The concept is actually biblical

 Romans 8:37 says, "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."

 (NKJV)

We understand the concept of being a conqueror.  Engaging a foe in battle and coming up the victor!  That's the stuff great action movies are made of.  

Personally I have been quite the conqueror for many years.  My family loves engaging in a spirited board game now and then and I have often been the victorious conqueror.

But what does it mean to be more than a conqueror.

To be more than a conqueror means that we reap the benefits of the conqueror without the risk or cost involved in conquering.

I have never been a huge boxing fan but there was a time that I did take a passing interest in it.

The 1984 U.S. Olympic team was hugely successful.  Of 12 possible medals, the U.S. won 9 golds, 1 silver and 1 bronze.  

Oddly enough, the lone bronze medal was won by the boxer who ended up being the most famous...Evander Holyfield.

But it was the silver medalist-Virgil Hill-who stoked my interest.

You see, Virgil was from North Dakota like I was.  So I followed his career.  He was truly a conqueror.

I imagine his bouts went something like this...

Virgil got in the ring and went round after round, dispensing and receiving blow after blow.  At the end, battle weary, Virgil's hand would be lifted in victory.  He would stand in the ring, the promoter would hand him an envelope with a check containing the victor's share of the prize purse.  He would hold the check up, pry open his swollen eyelid and look at the amount and smile, knowing he was a conqueror.

But his wife, Carla, she wasn't just a conqueror.  Virgil would hand the check over to her and she would smile knowing she was MORE than a conqueror.

She reaped the benefits of victory without having to endure the pain.

We too are more than conquerors.  Christ endured the pain of the cross so that we could be the recipients of His grace and mercy.  No pain, all gain!

It happens like this, we realize that we are lost in our sins and need a Savior.  

Christ Jesus forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

We say thank you.

He says, "You are more than welcome!"