A
young man was getting ready to graduate from college.
For many months he had
admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father
could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. As Graduation Day
approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the
morning of his graduation his father called him into his private study. His father told him
how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him.
He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat
disappointed the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound
Bible. Angrily, he raised his
voice at his father and said, "With all your money, you give me a
Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy book. Many years passed and
the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful
home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought
perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him
since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a
telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his
possessions to his son. He needed to come home
immediately and take care of things. When he arrived at his
father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search his
father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it
years ago. With tears, he opened
the Bible, and began to turn the pages. As he read those
words, a car key dropped from an envelope taped behind the Bible. It had a tag with the
dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the
date of his graduation, and the words ... PAID IN FULL. How many times do we
miss God's blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? |
The Gift |