In the retail world, nobody likes returns. I should know — I’ve spent plenty of time in that arena, and I can tell you firsthand: returns are a hassle. In fact, I dislike them so much that I never take anything back anywhere. Wrong size? It goes in the closet. I’ll either grow into it or out of it eventually. At the very least, Goodwill can use it.

No returns. Not happening.

This might sound stubborn, but let me tell you a story that proves just how deep this goes.

The Garden Hose Incident

At my house, the outdoor water spigots are… unconventional. You can’t just hook a garden hose straight up to them — there’s a little fitting that goes between the spigot and the hose. There are two outdoor spigots, and only one had this fitting, so I’d move it around depending on where I needed water.

Well, last fall I used the hose out in the backyard and forgot to unhook it before winter arrived. I didn’t realize this until someone — who will remain unnamed — put a bunch of grease down my kitchen sink, and I suddenly had a sink full of dirty dishwater that wouldn’t drain.

I rent, so naturally I called the landlord first. “We can be there in about six weeks,” they said. Six weeks without a kitchen sink? That’s not going to work.

So I tried everything — plumbing snakes, different tools, nothing worked. Then I remembered this little bladder device you hook up to a hose. It inflates inside the pipe and blasts water through the blockage. I’d never actually had one of those work before, but it was worth a shot.

I tore the garage apart looking for it (my tools aren’t nearly as organized as they were when I worked for an HVAC company — I had separate bags for everything back then). Finally found it. Grabbed the hose. Went outside.

The hose was frozen solid. Still hooked to the house. Probably about to bust the pipes underneath.

Now I’m in a full panic. I’ve got to get this thing off the house, and it’s frozen on. So I did what any reasonable person would do: I got a bigger wrench.

And I broke the fitting in half.

Not the spigot, thankfully. Not the pipe under the house, thankfully. But the fitting? Snapped clean in half. Now I couldn’t use a garden hose anywhere on my property.

So I went to Lowe’s, grabbed what looked like the right replacement, took it home — it didn’t fit. Put it in the toolbox, because I’m not returning it. Went back, got another one. Didn’t fit. Into the toolbox. I now have a small collection of incorrect fittings in my garage — so if you need a weird fitting for something, see me before you go to Lowe’s. I’ve pre-purchased several options for you.

I still can’t use a garden hose at my house. But the point stands: no returns. I hate returns.

A Different Kind of Return

But today I want to talk to you about a good return.

Revelation chapter 2, beginning in verse 1, writes to the angel of the church of Ephesus:

“These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast labored, and hast not fainted.”

Sounds pretty good, right? This church was doing the work. They were laboring. They were patient. They were testing false teachers and standing firm.

But then comes verse 4:

“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”

And then the instruction:

“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and I will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”

Here’s the return the Lord is calling for. There were people doing good work — laboring, enduring, standing for truth — but somewhere along the way, life bogged them down. Family, jobs, the flesh, the daily grind. And they forgot their first love.

Peter warned us that if we don’t add certain things to our faith, we can come to a place in our Christian walk where we completely forget we were even redeemed. Not that we stop being redeemed — thankfully, that’s not how grace works — but we can forget it. We can lose the wonder.

And let’s be honest: there are believers all over this city today who are cutting grass, watching ballgames, going jogging, preparing for a holiday — and not remembering that they’ve been redeemed.

We don’t want to fall into that camp.

Return Unto Me

Isaiah 44:22 says:

“I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me, for I have redeemed thee.”

Return unto the Lord. Remember your first love. Don’t let the distractions of life crowd out the wonder of what He’s done.

And if you’re reflecting on your own life and you realize you’ve drifted — the encouraging word for today is simple: return.

Isaiah 43:25-26:

“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.”

No Remnant Left Behind

When the Lord blots out your transgressions, there’s no remnant. Think about a school chalkboard. The teacher writes, erases, writes again, erases again — but you can still see faint traces of what was there before. It’s not truly clean until someone comes through with a damp cloth and wipes it completely clear.

That’s what God does with your sins. He doesn’t just smudge them — He washes them completely away. No ghost of guilt left behind. No faint outline of your past remaining.

First Corinthians 6:11 puts it plainly:

“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

You are washed. You are sanctified. You are justified — in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by His Spirit. Not because you deserve it. Not because of any accomplishments of your own.

And it would be good to remember that. And to return to the One who made it so.