|
A
young man was getting ready to graduate from college.
For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in
a dealer's showroom. Knowing that his father could well
afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. As
graduation day approached, the young man awaited signs
that his father had purchased the car.
Finally,
on the morning of his graduation, his father called him
into his private study. He told him how proud he was to
have such a fine son and how much he loved him. He then
handed him a beautifully-wrapped gift box.
Curious,
but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box
and found a lovely leather-bound Bible with his name
embossed in gold on the front.
Angrily,
he raised his voice to his father and said, "With
all your money, you gave me a Bible?" Then he
stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible and his
father behind.
Many
years passed and the young man became a very successful
businessman. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful
family. One day he began to think of his father and,
realizing that by now he must be very old, he decided he
would go and visit his father. The two had not seen each
other since the son had stormed away on his graduation
day, but before he could make arrangements, he received
a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and
that he had willed all his possessions to his son. He
needed to come home immediately and take care of things.
Sudden
sadness and regret filled his heart as he reached his
father's home. As he began searching through his
father's important papers, he saw the still-new Bible,
just as he had left it years ago. With tears in his
eyes, he opened it and began to turn the pages.
His
father had carefully underlined the verse, Matthew 7:11,
"And if ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts
to your children, how much more shall your heavenly
Father which is in heaven give to those who ask Him?"
As
he read these words. a car key dropped from the back of
the Bible. The key had a tag attached, which had the
same dealer's name that had owned the sports car he had
desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation and
the words "PAID IN FULL!"
How
many times do we miss God's blessings because they are
not packaged as we expected them to be?
May we
always yield our lives to the Lord so completely
that we can confidently leave the packaging up to Him,
knowing that He always does what is best for us, and
that we can trust Him to keep His promises and to meet
our every need.
|
