THE PACKAGE

A young man was looking forward to graduating from College. For many months he had been admiring a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s showroom and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that that was what 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. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, wiith his name embossed in gold on the inside. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, “With all your money, you give me a Bible?” and stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible behind. Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realized that his father was very old and thought that perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that Graduation Day. But before he could make the necessary arrangements, he received a telephone call notifying him that his father had passed away. His father had willed all his possessions to him. Upon arrival at his father’s house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father’s important papers and found the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. His father had carefully underlined a 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 picked up the Bible and read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer’s name - the same dealer who had the sports car he so had desired. On the tag was the date of his Graduation Day and the words…PAID IN FULL. How many times do we miss God’s blessings because they are not packaged as we expect!!! Dr Rick Denning