"I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but
whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess." (Martin
Luther 1483-1546)
There is a beautiful story about a child
playing with a vase his mother had left on the table for a few moments.
When the mother turned at the sound of her son crying she saw that his
hand was in the vase and was apparently stuck. She tried to help him and
pulled and pulled until the child cried out in pain. But the hand was
stuck fast. How would they get it out?
The father suggested
breaking the vase but it was quite valuable and the child's hand might
be cut in the process. Yet he knew that if all else failed there would
be no other alternative. So he said to the boy, "Now, let's make one
more try. Open your hand and stretch your fingers out straight, like I'm
doing, and then pull!" "But Dad," said the boy, "if I do that I'll lose
my penny!"
The boy had had a coin in his hand all the time and
was holding it securely in his tight little fist. And he wasn't prepared
to open his hand and lose the penny. But once he opened his hand it came
out of the vase easily.
That vase can be likened to the entrance
to the Kingdom of God. It is narrow but quite easy to pass in, but first
you must open your hand to God - a hand in the hand. But we like to keep
our fists closed and hold fast to what we have and keep it for
ourselves. There is nothing wrong with money and possessions - it is
only when they assume an importance beyond their value in life that
problems arise. I had a friend for many years who seemed to be
preoccupied with money and the need to get it. It didn't seem to give
him much pleasure, only the worry of investing it to obtain the best
advantage. I conducted his funeral service some years ago and it brought
home to me that you can't take it with you. We arrived with nothing and
will depart the same way.
Jesus told the parable of the rich man
who wanted to build bigger barns to store his grain and goods. But God
said to him, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from
you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" We need to
be on guard, or the things we own will begin to own us. It is our own
clenched fist that makes us a prisoner. Open your hand to the hand of
God. Not what we have, but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance.
Ron Clarke JP An e-mail from Kingborough, near Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
http://word4week.com
