My check

Of course like everyone else I am waiting with bated breath for President-elect Obama to take office so I can begin to receive my check from the government. While I am definitely being facetious I am worried about another check. Several years ago I switched my check from my employer to direct deposit. While I waited for the direct deposit to go into effect I continued to deposit paychecks as I was paid.  The next two paychecks I did not realize that they were only pay stubs and did not have a signature at the bottom of the check, so I deposited them as normal. The funny thing was that the tellers did not notice either and approved the stubs for deposit. You can imagine my horror when I opened a letter from my bank telling me that the last two deposits to my account were being removed. At the time I did not have online banking so all night and the next morning I worried about my bank account. Once the bank opened I was able to see that my checks had been direct deposited and that the bank had simply given me double credit by depositing the check stubs. What a relief to know that the balance was correct.

I thought about this last night and was struck by something. What is going to happen when I go to cash my spiritual checks? What happens when I have been making all of these deposits all along only to find out that they were bogus deposits and there is nothing in the account? What happens when the money runs out?

Eli deposited the check of tradition and routine and one day when bad news came his account was dry and he fell over dead. David deposited the check of worship by convenience and when he went to make a withdrawal and found his account empty he went off into a state of depression. Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, deposited the check of receiving recognition for work, and found himself with an empty spiritual account and leprosy to boot. Saul made constant deposits with checks for future glory, and saw his son die on the battlefield with him, alone and without God’s help.

So what do I do if the deposits that I have been making all along are bogus and are not showing up in my account? What do I do when all has been self-serving, or for show and I need to make a withdrawal? Oh God grant me your grace, which I do not deserve.