What’s In The Box?

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Ephesians 3:20

Picture this…it’s not your birthday, or any other special occasion, and your dad walks in with a box for you. You can’t see inside it, but you know it’s something good because you have a great dad. The corner is torn open, so you try to look inside. Your dad tells you to just rip it open, but you’re cautious. What could it be?

As you tear the box open a little bit more you realize there’s a puppy inside! A little ball of unconditional love. It might be the exact one you’ve always wanted, or it may be one that you never thought of for yourself. What will your response be?

You could start to overthink everything. A puppy is a lot of work. It could bite you someday. It will probably pee on the carpet and you’ll have to clean up all the messes. It might bark a lot and disturb you when you’re trying to do other things. It may embarrass you in public. It might get hurt and need extra care. It may cause heartbreak. You don’t know how to take care of a dog. It’s way too hard. Just close up the box and give it back.

Or you could reach in and pull it out, let all that love climb all over you. Open your heart and connect with it. Give it a name. Commit to caring for it no matter what happens. Feed it, water it, give it exercise. Learn to know how it responds. Train it, get help from someone who has trained dogs themselves. Learn to work together. Find a purpose. Share it with others. Make it your partner, your companion. Take it everywhere you go.

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts.  Use them well to serve one another.
1 Peter 4:10

Your Father has given you a gift. He will give you a glimpse, but you need to open the box to really see it. If you missed it, or didn’t open it when He showed it to you, ask Him to bring you the box again. Ask Him to help you to get it open, to show you everything that He has for you inside.

Yes, it will be a lot of work. You will probably need to clean up some messes. It may disrupt your life, or embarrass you in public. It may need extra care sometimes, and it may cause heartbreak.

On the other hand, you will be surrounded with unconditional love as you discover your gift. It will bring joy as you discover how much it enriches your life. It will bring satisfaction as you use it to serve others. It will fill the space where it felt like something was missing.

It will take some work to develop. You will need to discover how to use it properly. You will need some advice from others who have already been through it. You will need to feed it with the Word, and water it with prayer. It will need exercise to grow and mature to its full potential.

Practice makes perfect. Practice your new skills in small ways, at home, with a few trusted friends. Then see how far it will go as you nurture it. Your Father will be watching with joy and pride as you take your gift out on the town and put it to His use.