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Today's Scripture ~ Psalm 145.16 (NLT)
16 When you open your hand,
you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
Wisdom Story
A man, who was angry with God, went to the pastor. "Pastor," he said, "I am just about ready to leave the church." "Why?" asked the pastor. "I do not feel God is blessing me much, if any, and I must be wasting my time with this religious stuff."
The pastor told the man to go to the nearby beach and fill a ten-gallon bucket of water and bring it back to the pastor's office. The man, respecting the pastor but confused as to the directions, did as instructed by him. Then, the pastor spoke, "Now, take a pint jar to the beach and fill it with water, then, bring it back here and place it beside the bucket of water." This the man did, though still confused by the exercise. The pastor told the man, "Last, take a thumbnail to the beach and fill it with water, then, place it beside the jar of water." The man, wondering about the common sense of the pastor's advisement, decided this one last time to do what he was telling him.
Then, the pastor spoke, "Friend, why did you not put as much water in the thumbnail as you did the jar?" The man replied, "Well, that would be impossible, for the jar is larger than the thumbnail." "And," continued the pastor, "why did you not put as much water in the jar as you did the bucket?" The man spoke, "For the same reason."
"So, it is," said the pastor, "with the Spirit." Continuing, he clarified, "As the Sea has billions of gallons of water and each vessel receives not according to the capacity of the Sea but the capacity of the vessel, the same applies to you. That you do not experience the abundance of God is not God's fault. For we each receive not according to God's capacity to give but our capacity to receive."
Comments
When we dearly love someone, we want them to enjoy as much of blessing as possible. We would like to give gifts expressing love for them. If they have more than we do, we are joyful about that, for we want their blessing more than our own. If they suffer want, we suffer with them.
God, being Love, is inclined to bless us. Infinite Love takes delight in opening the hand and pouring grace in many forms upon us.
Our spiritual blessings are meant to be received as a deluge from the Heart of God. Spirit wants to send us good like a rushing downpour, not a subtle sprinkle.
We can have much faith in the Divine generosity, but that does not mean we will receive an abundance of what we most need from God. We receive according to our capacity to receive, not as God is able to give.
This leads us to a logical spiritual principle, universal and timeless.
If I am to enjoy more from the generous abundance of Grace,
I must so relate with God that my capacity
to receive from God increases.
We love God and release the effects of Grace in our lives by so growing in God that we are able to receive more of the outflow of Divine Generosity.
For submission of replies, see below:
*Brian K. Wilcox lives with his wife, Rocio, and their two dogs, St. Francis and Bandit Ty, in Clearwater and Punta Gorda, Florida. He is a United Methodist pastor and vowed member of Greenbough House of Prayer, a contemplative Christian community in Georgia. His passion is living a contemplative life and inspiring others to experience a deeper relationship with Christ through contemplative prayer and living.
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