The Bothersome Package

Someone is taking things to a dying relative in the mountains of a foreign country. His great Aunt hands him a heavy, heavy brown package to add to his already bulging pack to take to them. "Don't lose it! Promise me!" she says. It's wrapped in plain brown paper that looks kind of dirty and old. He struggles to find space for it in the already stuffed backpack, which is full of things he will need very soon. It's the only things he will have, to get through the desolate wilderness for days. And now he needs to carry this dirty box also!

Trudging along a narrow path for another hour, he keeps thinking of secretly dropping it along the way, and claiming it was an accident. The climb is tough and takes many days. Each day, it seems like the heavy backpack is harder to carry. If it were to fall off a steep cliff, that would be too bad! These things happen. It can't be that important, probably just some old knick knacks that were fondly remembered.

But he did promise his great Aunt to take it, so he sighed and kept going, one foot, then another foot, left foot right foot, hour after hour, day after day.

When he finally sees the old house in the mountains, the relief is huge. The dying relative thanks him for the supplies and looks at everything. He even unwraps the package. Inside, there is a beautiful antique box. He opens it, and gold coins and large jewels spill out into the old man's hands.

"This is going to be yours soon, according to my will", he explains. "That's why I wanted it to be brought here, for safe keeping until then. Thank you for coming to visit me. You remind me of your father!"

He looked back in horror at how he had considered simply tossing this package down a hill, like it was a box of noodles or something.

If only he knew what was in that ugly brown package the whole time, he wouldn't have complained and felt so weary on the way up!

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who found a great treasure that had been hidden in a field. He was so overjoyed, that he went out immediately to sell everything he had and buy the field."

Sometimes we can be holding onto the truth of God and doing things because we promised to, because it is our duty, but there is more potential than that! If we really knew what is available to us, how we can hear what God has to say to us each day, how far we can go and what we can receive, we would not feel like it is just our duty to be faithful! We would rejoice and look ahead, because each day is the day the Lord has made, no matter what day it is.

"The thief comes to steal... but I came so that you can have life, and then have it more and more..."

"Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God each day."

There is a treasure in each day, it is there for us to find, if we rejoice that the day is from God, and that he is there with us.