I once heard a story of a homeless man
who filled his stomach each night out of the dumpsters of the local
restaurants. One evening as he was sifting through the dumpsters he was spotted
by a man who was coming out of the back of a restaurant. The man said,
"come here." Even though he was scared of going to jail, he walked up
to the man who took him inside the restaurant. As he walked into the kitchen he
saw that there was so much food. The man told him that he owned this restaurant
and whenever he was hungry he could come here for a free meal. As the man looked around astonished, he
thanked him humbly. After taking it all in and turned to the owner and asked,
"would you mind if I still ate from the dumpster too?"
As unbelievable as this is, how often
do we see all the things that the God of the universe has supplied and blessed
us with and still want to hold on to the junk in our lives? If we were true to
ourselves, we could look at everything we have in this world and realize it
means nothing compared to the goodness of God. Paul had the right
perspective when he said, "But whatever were gains to me I now consider
loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because
of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have
lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ"
(Philippians 3:7, 8 NIV)
Prayer:
Lord, show us the riches of Heaven that you have lovingly poured down
upon us. Keep us from thinking too highly of the worldly things we have
acquired. As we focus on your goodness today, let us love more fully, give more
generously and praise you wholeheartedly. In Christ's Name, Amen.
Ryan Benton
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