The little sack was inscribed, “Things Remembered,” the name of the little shop where I had purchased THINKING OUT OF THE BOX. As I looked at the sack I began to think of gifts and prizes I had received. My first thought was to remember the very first gift I had received. It occurred to me that my first gift had been received 57 years earlier. It was the gift of life. In that time, unlike today there was little thought of a baby not being allowed life. Still, it was my first gift. Thanks mom! Next I thought of a plate on the bookshelf in our living room. It is carnival glass and had the image of an eagle, one of my favorite symbols. Also, it read 1776-1976, the 200 years of our great nation.
My Aunt Jane, my mother’s identical twin, had given it to me. I was the son she had never had and so it was a gift with special meaning. This past year it became even more important and valuable. My aunt had died. She went to the grave thinking I was perfect. My mother and my wife knew different, but my aunt was never convinced. 23 In Romans 6:23 we read of an even more important gift: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Gifts are free and most of the time we don’t deserve them. Prizes are a different story. Prizes are often our motivation for effort. In sales, trying to gain a prize really comes with the territory.
Paul also has a little to say about prizes. He describes the events of a race in I Corinthians 9: 24 as follows:
"Know ye not that they which run in a race run all,
but one received the prize? So run, that ye may obtain."
I tried to think of a time when I won, when no one else could have. Most of our prizes several people could win. Since I had played basketball and baseball the emphasis was on team accomplishment, not individual effort. Then I saw a small plaque on the wall of my office. The plaque read Sales Leader of the Month, December 1994. The prize was important at the time. A great month allowed me to reach my goal for 1994 and so I kept it on my office wall with diplomas and other more meaningful items. I did notice it was dusty and that fact reminded me of the next verse in I Corinthians 9:25
"And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.
Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible."
How much more important the crowns (prizes) God has for us are than those we seek for ourselves. Our crowns are important in this world, but His are important in the world to come. Throughout life the prizes we receive mark meaningful occurrences. Sometimes there is bitterness when we don’t receive what we think we should. The great realization and the awesome truth is that with God we will receive what we deserve. For rewards we must have both right actions and right motives. Paul said it all very well in Philippians 3:14:
"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
I remember the line from a song when I was a young person. “Only one life will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” We need to all make sure our life counts where He would want it to count.
"The heart of the giver makes the gift dear and precious." Martin Luther
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17
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