I promise a spiritual application to this post so bear with me.
Working in the retail and business world for several years introduced me to the concept of tangibles and intangibles. I’m sure we all have some understanding of what these two concepts mean, but for the sake of this post I will be explaining it.
I’m sure everyone readily knows what a tangible is. We go to the grocery store and we look at the items we want to purchase and we touch them, read the labels, and grade what their value and need is to us. Then we purchase. . .or not. Simply put tangibles are visible objects in this realm around us that we see.
The less thought of product is still very much recognized when we start talking about insurance. Intangible products include all goods sold to customers that can’t actually be seen, touched, sniffed or otherwise handled by the consumer. Examples of intangible products include insurance, tax services, cell phone service, some computer software and transportation services.
So you see the difference. I found selling insurance when I was in my early twenties to be difficult because people didn’t have a visible product. All they knew was it was something they could look to for mental security. The trouble I found with it is selling such a product to the younger crowd especially was difficult and hard to get them to maintain it. Most of the time when people run into hard times the first thing to go it their intangible products. The tendency was to not feel it was valuable enough to them to keep.
As we all grow older we find the need for these things like insurance as a necessity to help with our end-of-life needs so as to not burden family or others. Oh I don’t plan on leaving my wife with any more bills than necessary if I go first. I hope this intangible will pay off for her security of knowing she’s taken care of. It’s my responsibility.
Now to bring into perspective what I’m after here. In the New Testament Jesus said in Luke 5 below:
17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.
19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.
20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?
23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.
Such as (Doubting) Thomas was not to accept the resurrection of Jesus till he touched the wounds and saw it to be Jesus risen, so many people find it hard to believe Jesus forgives us our sins when we accept Him as our Savior. The intangible nature of salvation through grace by faith in Him is a hard thing to comprehend in so many minds.
I see people going to altars every church meeting with their latest battle against their souls. I feel they have not fully accepted the defeat of their soul’s enemy and made the Holy Spirit so small in their lives. I admit I have my days. I have to say though that I will not lay down to defeat.
I have come to realize the intangible nature of faith has but to wait upon the Lord and He will manifest Himself to us in our circumstances in a tangible way. We just simply need to believe, have hope and our faith will produce the tangible from the intangible.
