The Box Revisited

Hello Everyone,

This is one of the first posts I ever created and I think that every once in a while I should repost it because it was so profound to me.



I have given this a lot a of thought and I believe that the Lord showed me something that changed the way I view people.

You see, when God creates a person he gives them abilities, passions, desires, talents and all sorts of wonderful attributes that we seldom ever see.  Then he takes all these things and puts them in a box with silver wrapping paper and very pretty red ribbon tied in a bow around it.  He calls the box - You.  It is a present to the world.  When I saw this for the first time, I looked around at all the people walking by and said to myself, "Merry Christmas!" because all I could see were beautiful boxes waiting to be opened.

The problem is many people don't even know what is in their own box much less have taken the time to look in someone elses box.  This starts when we are in school.  As we grow up, we learn all kinds of new things about ourselves: what we like, what we don't, the changes that our bodies go through, we learn things in school about the world and we learn about social interaction.  But sometimes that social interaction teaches us that the stuff in our box isn't all that important.

Have you ever felt like the stuff inside you doesn't really matter?  Can you look back to a point in your life where you were doing something you really enjoyed and someone else called it or you stupid or worthless?

When you pull the most precious parts of your life out of the box and let other people see them, it is scary because you are definitely vulnerable at that point.  But know this, the Lord put all those wonderful things inside and they are of great price and value.  Don't let someone cheapen what is so precious by their comments.

Everyday, I see people who are alive but aren't living.  I think it is because they have told themselves that the treasures in their box aren't important or worth much so they don't do anything with them.  They may not have done this openly but below the surface it happens.  You have to know that if God took the time to create you and put all those treasures inside you, they are important both to him and to me.

When was the last time you looked in your box and pulled out something you truly enjoyed and used it?  When was the last time you opened the box?  When was the last time you were passionate about anything?  Are you so caught up in the rat race that your box isn't important any more?

Here is another interesting question - When was the last time you opened up someone else's box to see who they really are and celebrate the gifts inside them?  Do you always know what is wrong with your husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, kids, friends, parents, family, coworkers but never look inside the box for what is so awesome about them?

Husbands, what would happen if instead of criticizing your wife, the next time you saw her, you decided to look at something that was so precious to her, so beautiful, so tender, so amazing and something she loved about herself?  What would happen if you nurtured that gift and encouraged it to grow?  What would happen if, after you opened her box, she decided that your box was the most special one on earth and decided to touch the core of who you are?  What if you both decided to go deep in your relationship?

Boyfriends, what if you looked at her and decided that you wanted more than just what was inside her clothes, you wanted what was inside her heart.  Girlfriends, what if you decided that you wanted the same thing?  What if you wanted to explore who they are and make them the best person they could be while they did the same thing to you?  What if you looked at them and asked, "What can I give?" instead of "What can I get?"

Is this a little intense?  Yes.  Is it worth it if just one person decides to open their box or open someone elses?  Yes.  You see, I believe that I got to see a little glimpse of the creation through the creator's eyes when He showed me this.  It was truly an eye opening experience and I can definitely say I will never be the same.  I got to see how He looked at and longs for His creation to be all that we can be and how His love for us goes so deep His heart aches for us.

So I guess the real question is what is in your box?  I want to know.

That's the Opinion of His Minion

Making Mistakes

Hello Everyone,

Today I want to talk about an important subject - making mistakes.  We have all done it right?  For most of us when we make a mistake (if it's a big one) we feel pretty bad about it - especially when it hurts someone else.  Have you ever said something to someone that really hurt their feelings?  Even if you were provoked and they had it coming, it doesn't necessarily feel good after you do it right?

I know that I have laid in bed at night sometimes and couldn't sleep rethinking about some mistake I made and wishing I had done something differently.  Have you ever been in financial trouble or maybe your making a bad grade in school.  I know that as an adult I have had financial trouble before.  I sit and think things like what if I hadn't spent that money or what if I had saved that money.  I shouldn't have bought that TV or I shouldn't have gone on vacation.  Here's the interesting part though.  No matter how many hours and hours I thought about how I should have done things differently, the problem was still there.  I realized that I could not go back and unspend money.

The real question is what do I do now.  He might not have said this first but the words of Bob Nichols, the pastor of a great church here in Fort Worth, "If you find yourself in a hole, quit digging!"  If you are doing something that is causing you problems, quit doing it.  If you are in debt, quit spending money on stuff you don't need.  If you are making bad grades in school, quit waiting for your grades to go up on their own.  Start studying.

I heard a story about a mule that fell into a well.  He found himself in a deep hole.  The mule was very old and the well was dry.  The owner of the mule decided that he would just bury the mule and be done with it.  He got a shovel and a couple of his friends and they started filling in the well with dirt to cover up the mule.  After a little while, the owner looked over the lip of the well as his friends were still throwing dirt in the well.  To his amazement, the mule wasn't covered up.  Each time his friends threw a load of dirt on the mule's back, he would shake it off and then step up on it.  The mule was raised higher and higher until eventually he walked out of the well.

Friends, if you find yourself in a place where you've made mistakes and wish things were different, don't spend time worrying or feeling guilty about your past mistakes.  You can't change them. What you can change is your future. Stop feeling guilty about the past and through Jesus, start feeling great about your future.  God has a good plan for your life.

That's another Opinion of the Minion