James 1:16-18
So don’t be misled, dear brothers.
But
whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God, the Creator of all
light, and he shines forever without change or shadow. And it was a
happy day for him when he gave us our new lives through the truth of his
Word, and we became, as it were, the first children in his new family.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
The last time Timothy and
Nathan visited for the day, we had a surprise for them…an odd assortment
of Lego® pieces and accessories to add to their collection. There was
an anchor…a “police” car hood, some cool tubes and extensions, and much
more. The boys were thrilled with this surprise…and Greg and I
delighted in THEIR joy and excitement.
More than once, Timothy
has asked Greg and me, “WHY are you so nice to me?” This usually comes
on the heels of getting something he really wants…like a new Lego® set.
But sometimes it is the result of extra attention or praise. There are
also times when things are not quite going their way and one of the
children will say to us…”You NEVER do anything nice for me!” Yes, kids
can be quite fickle!
Thankfully, God is never inconsistent…and He loves
to give us gifts and blessings. I can just imagine the joy He finds in
watching us revel in the wonder of an unexpected gift…everything from a
friendly word or gesture from another person to some kind of “windfall”
that we were not anticipating. My mother called such surprise
blessings “silver boxes.” I would tell her about something wonderful
that happened out of the blue, and she would say, “There’s your ‘silver
box’ for today!”
God loves to give us “silver boxes.” These are
the “Lego® sets” of His universe. “Shadows” do come into our lives from
time to time…and like little children, we often question God about
them. But these are not His doing. God is never fickle...His light never falters. The
“clouds” that occasionally block our awareness of His presence come from
our own sin - and are the devil’s doing. But God is still there…loving
us…blessing us…caring about our every breath!
“Silver boxes” are
all around us. We never know when we will receive one…but God has an
unending stash of them just waiting to be shared. As we grow in our
faith, let’s learn to recognize these more readily…to stomp down any
notions that God would withhold His gifts from us or ever mistreat us in
any way. Let’s understand that God is in the business of giving His
children all that they need…and then some!
When God gives you a
“silver box,” will you recognize that it came from Him? Do you fully
appreciate ALL of God’s good gifts…and have you told Him so lately?
Isn’t this the perfect day to get your “attitude of gratitude” right,
once and for all? What will God give you today? Are you really ready to
for His light to shine?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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