WHAT DO YOU HAVE THAT YOU DID NOT RECEIVE?
1 CORINTHIANS 4:7 NAS
There is a story about a rather eccentric family. The son had become very successful and lived on the other side of the world from his parents. He was really loaded and one of the things he especially enjoyed doing was buying his elderly mum and dad really unusual presents for Christmas. One Christmas he found a unique gift: a talking bird that spoke five languages and sang the National Anthem standing on one foot. It cost £10,000. But the man didn’t mind. So he paid for the bird and had it specially delivered to his parents’ home just in time for Christmas. Later, on Christmas Day, he made a long-distance phone call to wish his parents ,Happy Christmas, and to ask them how they liked their present. ‘Dad, did you get my gift?’ he said. ‘Yep, I sure did,’ replied his father. ‘So did you like it?’ he asked, to which his dad replied, ‘Yes son, it was delicious, much better than the turkey we would usually have!’ His dad obviously missed the point. He treated as ordinary, a gift that was very special. Doh! Too often that’s how we treat the blessings God gives us. Paul asks, ‘What do you have that you did not receive?’ Everything we have, including the breath in our lungs, is a gift from God! And James adds: ‘Every good thing given…is from above, coming down from the Father’ (James 1:17 NAS). So anything we give back to God is just returning to Him a small part of what He’s given to us already. Try to remember to be thankful to God for his unique care for you today.
