Have you noticed that the packages we buy at the grocery store seem to be getting smaller and have less in them?
As costs rise a good number of companies have decided to reduce the size of their products rather than charge more for them.
Look closely and you’ll see examples of this everywhere.
Toilet paper rolls are getting narrower and thinner.
Loaves of bread have gotten shorter and have fewer slices.
I opened up a big bag of potato chips the other day. The bag was the same price and said “Family Size” on the outside. But when I looked inside there was more air than there were chips!
I even noticed that Mrs. Butterworth seems to have trimmed her waistline. I’d love to know what diet she is on. If I can eat pancakes with syrup and still lose weight…I’m in!
British economist, Pippa Malgren, is credited with coming up with the name for this new phenomenon. She calls it “shrinkflation”.
Sometimes it’s easy to see.
That “half gallon” of ice cream you buy has shrunk from 2.4 quarts down to 1.5 quarts.
A “5-pound” bag of sugar is now 4 pounds.
And Wheat Thins — there are 28 fewer crackers in a box. I know because I counted.
But I get it. Manufacturers find themselves in a tough spot with few good options. As one of my friends likes to say, “It is what it is.”
Yet, I’m happy to tell you that there is one place where you will never experience shrinkflation. There is one place where, if anything, your expectations will be exceeded and you will receive more than you could have imagined or hoped for. Of course I’m talking about the love and grace of God.
In Lamentations 3:22-23, we read: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; {23} they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
John 1:6 says, “And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”
And in Ephesians 2:6-7, Paul writes, “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, {7} in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”
God has a boundless supply of love, mercy and grace!
You will never be disappointed by the love of God.
He will never run out of mercy or grace.
As long as we love Him and follow His son, Jesus, His love, mercy and grace will flow like an endless stream into our lives — washing over us, cleansing us, blessing us.
A little over a month ago, Peppi and I went to Niagara Falls, Canada. We had a great trip. Each morning we quickly dressed, grabbed a cup of coffee and walked down to the falls so that we could sit on a bench and marvel at the splendor of God’s creation.
The amount of water coming over the falls is just astonishing. Every second 3,160 tons of water flow over the falls, 5.9 million cubic feet of water every minute. The sheer force of it is amazing. Equally impressive is the fact that it continues to do this hour after hour, day after day, year after year, century after century!
Only once, in 1848, did the water ever stop flowing. According to the Niagara Falls Tourism Board:
“A strong south-west wind pushed the ice in Lake Erie in motion. Millions of tons of ice became lodged at the mouth of the Niagara River at Lake Erie blocking the channel completely. The self-made dam held the water for approximately thirty hours until the wind shifted and the pent-up weight of the water broke, forcing the Niagara River to flow again.”
Only once in all the years has Niagara Falls ever stopped flowing.
Scientists speculate that 2,000 years from now the Niagara River, which supplies the falls, could dry up and the water flowing over the falls stop for good.
I doubt I’ll be around if that happens.
But I‘ve got good news for you! The flow of God’s love, mercy and grace has never stopped. It will never stop. It will flow from now throughout eternity!
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; {23} they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23).
There is no shrinkflation in the kingdom of God! The flow of God’s love, mercy and grace — more powerful than Niagara Falls — will never stop. It is a constant, life-giving, sustaining flow!
Paul explains in Romans 8:38-39 that nothing Satan does can ever separate us from the love of God. There’s only one person that can ever separate you from His love: YOU. That being the case, let’s make sure that we continue to love Him, serve Him and follow His Son, Jesus, so that His boundless love forever flows.