OPENING PACKAGES

by Jon Walker

God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV)

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As my six-year-old tried to open a package, I sat patiently waiting for him to ask me for help. It was one of those protective, hard plastic packages that some manufacturers use—you know, the kind that are nearly impossible to open short of using a small explosive.

I knew my son wouldn’t be able to open the package on his own, but I make it a general rule never to grab things out of his hands, like one child might disrespectfully snatch something away from another. Sure, I’m bigger than him and I could’ve taken it out of his hands, but I wanted him to make his own choice about whether or when he would ask me for help.

It didn’t take long before he looked up at me, and I said, “Do you want me to help you?” He said yes and handed me the package. I knew it would require more than my hands (or teeth) to open it, so I found some heavy scissors to cut through the plastic.

Today, you may be holding a package in your hand wrapped in a hard plastic shell—something Jesus called the “abundant life.” You’re straining to get inside the package, using all the means and schemes you can think of to break through.

God is patiently sitting next to you, waiting for you to abandon your independent attempts to create the abundant life, waiting for you to let him loose in your life, waiting for you to say, “I can’t, but God, you can.”

In that moment, God becomes your strength, “so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV).

Jon Walker is the author of “Growing with Purpose: Connecting with God Every Day.”