“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent, or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:11-13
“God gives where He finds empty hands” is still as true today as when St. Augustine wrote these words centuries ago. It is hard to receive gifts when your hands are already full. We laugh at the little boy who puts his hand into the cookie jar, grabs two cookies, but can’t get his hand out without dropping one of them. Unfortunately, even as adults we keep holding onto “things” preventing God from giving us better gifts.
“A man whose hands are full of parcels can’t receive a gift. Perhaps these parcels are not always sins or earthly cares, but sometimes our own fussy attempts to worship Him in our way. Incidentally, what most often interrupts my own prayers is not great distractions but tiny ones – things one will have to do or avoid in the course of the next hour.” (C.S. Lewis)
I am wondering if we might learn something about open hands during this coronavirus pandemic. Lots of us are realizing how full our hands had gotten in these last several years. We didn’t plan on getting so busy. We never planned to take time away from our family. We never planned to miss church because of other activities. How often have you said to your loved ones about the lack of time because you were so busy? How often as parents did you feel frustrated because of all the activities your kids were involved in at school, sports teams and yes, even church activities. How often have you said it would be nice to have a simpler lifestyle?
I don’t necessarily like the damage this pandemic has inflicted upon our families, communities, nation and world. However, maybe we can learn some valuable lessons if we take time to listen with open hands and hearts. God desires to be with us, talk with us and yes, even give us gifts every now and then. If our hands are always full of “parcels”, it is impossible to receive a gift.
“A little boy and his father visited the country store. Upon leaving the store the owner of the store offered the little boy some free candy. “Get a handful of candy”, the merchant said to the boy. The boy just stood there looking up at his father. The owner repeated himself, “Son, get a handful of candy; it’s free.” Again, the boy did not move, continuing to look up in the face of his father. Finally, the father reached into the candy jar and got a handful of candy and gave it to his son. As they walked back home, the father stopped and asked his son why he did not grab a handful of the free candy. The boy, with a big smile on his face, looked into the face of his father and said, “Because I know that your hand is bigger than mine.” (Source Unknown)
James reminds us in his section on testing of one’s faith that, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17) The little boy understood the value of keeping his hands empty because his father’s hand would give so much more. Open hand living is not easy but so much more rewarding as you let the big hands of God place the gifts in your hands.
God is great,
Pastor Lynn
