Meditation on Psalm
16:5-6
“The LORD
is my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely
I have a delightful inheritance.”
Once there was a young boy of a very wealthy man. He had two older sisters and an older
brother. One day his father pulled all
of them into the living room and sat them down. “My children,” he said, “today, I’m going to divide up my possessions
and give you what will be your future inheritance.”
“As long as it is fair.”
The eldest son said.
“I will make it fair.
I have put in this hat four pieces of paper. I will draw them out and tell you what is yours.”
“How are you going to divide up the inheritance?” The eldest girl answered.
“You will see.” The
father replied. “We will begin with the
oldest and come to the youngest.” The
father reached his strong hand into the hat and pulled out a piece of paper. He unrolled it and said, “Son, you will
receive all of the 1000 acres of land.
The mountains, the waterfall by Fish Cauldron, the forests and the
fields are all yours. You own all my
land except for the ten acres around the house and the fields by the
stables. Explore it. Know it.
Love it.”
The younger boy watched as his older brother hugged his
father, thanked him and then ran off to explore the wild country. He was surprised to see how his older
brother ran out the door without finding out how the rest of the property was
divided up. A jealous thought stole
through his mind: “I wish I would’ve got the land. I loved when I walked with father through the woods and fished
beside him in the boat.”
“Now it’s your turn,” father said to his eldest
daughter. He pulled out another piece
of paper and unfolded it. He
smiled. “This will suit you well. You will receive the mansion and the ten
acres surrounding it, including the orchards.
You have always loved house and home.
You have always cooked with your mother and the other servants. Everything in the house is yours except for
the bedrooms of your brothers and sister.
You will need to care for them until they leave home. Care for it. Love it. Be hospitable
with it.”
The younger boy watched his sister hug his father, thank him
and then ran off into another room. He
could hear her tell the good news to all the servants she met. The boy thought: “Wow. Father is very generous.” But he also thought: “I wish I would’ve
gotten the house. There are so many
good memories about this place. I
remember wrestling with father right here in the living room, playing games
with him in the dining room and picking apples with him in the orchard.”
The father pulled out a third piece of paper and unfolded
it. Again he smiled. “As I thought,” he said. “You my dearest
little girl will receive the stables, the horses and all the pasturelands
surrounding them. I am glad you got
them because I’ve often seen you ride them after school. Though we have servants who muck the stalls,
feed them and groom them, you are always out there caring for them. They are now yours—all of them. Care for the horses. Learn to ride them better. Love them.”
The girl squealed with delight and threw her arms around her
father. “You will come and ride with me
every once in awhile? Won’t you?”
“Yes. Of course I
will.” Father assured her.
As his sister ran off to tell everyone the good news, the
little boy thought: “My sister is so lucky.
She got all the horses and father is even going to ride with her. I wonder what’s left for me.”
His father noticed a tear well up in his son’s eyes. “What is wrong, my son?”
“You gave my brother the land so he could climb mountains
and swim in lakes. You gave my sisters
the house and the horses. There is
nothing left for me.
The father scooped him up in his arms and wiped away his tear. “My dear little son, your older brother and
sisters love me but they are often busy doing other things. Though I drew pieces of paper out of the
hat, I knew which ones to pick for each of my children. Your brother loves the land. Sometimes I go with him but often he goes
alone. Your older sister loves
home. She loves to cook and be
hospitable. You other sister loves the
horses. Though I will ride with her
sometimes, she is always by the stables.”
“But what about me?
What do I get?”
“I give you myself.
Walk with me, laugh with me, talk with me and learn from me. Know my strength, my joy, my wisdom and my
love. For when you have me, you will
have much more then anyone else.” His
father said.
Then the boy understood that he received the greatest gift
of all: his father. In the days to come
he would learn of his father’s strength to hike through forests and over
mountains. He would learn of his
father’s joy as he would wrestle with him on the floor and have fun with
him. He would learn of his father’s
wisdom in the way to live life. But for
now, he rested in his father’s love for him.
Of all that his father gave away, the youngest boy received the greatest
portion.
This is what the author of Psalm 16 meant when he wrote:
“The LORD is my portion and my cup. You
make my lot secure. The boundary lines
have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful
inheritance.”
God has chosen to give himself to us. He is the greatest gift any of us could receive. When I fully understand that the Lord God,
the Creator of the galaxies and the earth, has given himself to me, then I am
truly richer then Bill Gates and all the people on this earth. I learn to be
content with everything I have. Whether
I have much or little, the Lord is more than enough for me.
This reminds me of a contemporary Christian songwriter and
singer, Chris Tomlin, who wrote a song entitled ‘Enough.’ The chorus is fitting for this verse:
“All of you is more than enough for all of me, for every thirst and every need.
You satisfy me with your love, and all I have in You is more than enough.”
No comments:
Post a Comment