The Gift of an Apple

The Gift of an Apple

Father,

Thank you for waking us up this morning.  Please help us to overcome any obstacles this week may present and help us to be aware and appreciative of all the blessings it will bring.

Help us to be a light, a bright reflection of Your glory, to our families, our coworkers, and friends. 

As we go through each day, walk by our side, be our guide, companion, and loving Father.

We ask these things in Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen

I was the first grandchild born to Oliver and Kathleen Marsh, but, I was quickly followed by my brother and a large number of cousins. Grandma and Papa Marsh’s house was not far from my own, so I was able to be a part of their lives each week.  I made countless good memories there. Grandma was then, as she is now, very maternal and loving.  Growing up, she took me on shopping trips to the mall and bought me little girly things.  She’d rock me to sleep at my request even when I was too old to need it.  And, I enjoyed many a summer at White Lake by her side.  As an adult, she has always been encouraging and supportive.  Though biased, Grandma has always made me feel like I am as good as anyone else on the planet.  It is certain I have never doubted that Grandma has thought me special.

Papa was the quiet type.  He enjoyed the simple things in life and was a man of few words.  I knew Papa loved me, but in a more reserved fashion than Grandma.  With Papa, his demonstrations of love were small things like an ice cream sandwich from Pete’s store in Cameron or a carefully created set of 3 Little Bear Chairs or a wooden heart piggy bank. I loved my Papa.  I knew he loved me, but because he never just came right out and said it aloud to me, the moments he clearly paid attention to me were as valuable as prized jewels.

By the time I was about six years old, Papa and Grandma Marsh had four grandchildren.  Christmas that year was, as usual, an extended family affair with all of their offspring gathered together in one house to enjoy a meal, conversation, and a gift exchange. As kids will do, I began to search for my name on the package tags under the Christmas tree.  I saw “To Marlene From Papa and Grandma” on several of the gifts.  But, on one small roundish, firm feeling present the label simply read, “To Marlene From Papa.”  I was transfixed.  The label said, “To Marlene From Papa” and it was in different handwriting than all the others.

Now, even in my own brief experiences with Christmas, I had figured out one thing for sure, gifts from Papa and Grandma were chosen, purchased, wrapped, and labeled by my Grandma.  So, to see one imperfectly wrapped gift with a label that listed only Papa on the From line was a deviation from the norm I had known. I took the gift to my father to show him.  I asked him if he thought the gift was really from my Papa…was the tag in his handwriting….did he think my Papa had really chosen the gift for me….did he think Papa really wrapped it for me?  He answered all my questions in the affirmative.

As with most family Christmas gatherings, the Opening of the Gifts was painfully postponed until after visiting and mealtime.  But, I would not be parted with that gift…that smallest of the gifts under the tree.  I carried the little roundish semi-ball shaped item with me as I played in the yard and it sat beside me when I ate. When it was finally time to open the gifts, I opened this gift first.  Inside the now badly damaged Christmas wrapping paper was a bumped up and bruised red delicious apple.  A simple apple.

Was I disappointed?  Absolutely not.  That apple was a gift from Papa for me.  He chose it for me.  He wrapped it for me.  He wrote my name on the tag and placed Papa on the From line.  He hadn’t just given me an apple; he’d given me a whole afternoon of feeling special.  I loved knowing I was special to Papa…I wouldn’t have traded that gift for any trinket.

All of us realize that we are surrounded by many other people in our lives.  We cannot always be the favorite child, favorite sibling, favorite employee….we know we are one of many, yet we cannot help but want to know we are special to someone.  Most especially, we hunger to know we are important to our father, to our grandfather.  

My own earthly father and grandfathers have gone on to their rest.  But, I still have a Father, my Father in heaven. My desire to be special to Him is as great a need now as it was to be special to my Father and Grandfathers.  I know my Heavenly Father loves all of His children, yet I still want to be special to Him.  I want to know that I am special to Him.

What about you?  Do you ever question if the Lord really hears you and sees you?  Really cares about you?  Really sees you as unique and special when He has billions of other children on this earth?

The Bible is clear; you can know that you ARE special to the Lord!

Psalm 139:13-14 You alone created my inner being. You knitted me together inside my mother. I will give thanks to you because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made. Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this.

This Psalm reminds us that we are created by God.  Have you ever watched someone lovingly create anything….like a woman sewing a quilt block by block…a man building a car engine part by part….a chef creating a meal ingredient by ingredient?  We are told the Lord knit us together in our mothers.  Can you envision what this means?  He knows you as intimately as a clockmaker knows his clock. 

Have you ever created anything?  I made a scarf recently.  I chose the yarn myself….carefully selecting the perfect skein based upon the color I desired, the soft texture I loved, and what I envisioned as the final look.  I carefully wove the yarn night after night, pulling the yarn tight here, loosening it there to get a beautiful finished product that I would be proud to wear and claim as my own design.  Now, when I look in my drawer of store bought scarves, the only one that truly stands out to me is the one that I created myself…because I know every inch of it well, because my own hands made it, because I chose every quality it possesses.  If I feel this way over length of woven scarf I created, how much more so your creator must feel about you!

1 Peter 2:9 However, you are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, people who belong to God. You were chosen to tell about the excellent qualities of God, who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

AND

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

God not only created you, He chose you to belong to Him.  He created you in His image to tell others about His excellent qualities.  Think about it….God is Holy…He is Royal…He is Magnificent….He is Glorious...  He is light…and we haven’t even touched the surface of all of His qualities. He chose you to demonstrate His qualities to the world….what must this say about you?

Psalm 119:73-74 You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands. May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy, for I have put my hope in your Word.

This Psalm reaffirms that we are made by God.  We are to stay in communication with our creator, following His wishes.  Think about this carefully.  Those things that you have created are valuable and special to you, correct?  You wish NO harm to come to them.  You are especially careful with them. Right?  Choices you make as to the care of a quilt you sewed, a car engine you built, a scarf you knitted take into consideration the implications for the item because you care very much what happens to them.  It is the same with your creator….asking for and following His guidance is prudent, as He cares deeply about what happens to you.

Isaiah 64:8 Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Have you ever watch a potter at work on the wheel?  He takes a lump of shapeless clay…clay that in its original form cannot serve in any capacity…and with skilled hands and focused attention; he slowly raises that clay up from a lump into a glorious, useful form of art.  The potter will take the clay and create a pitcher to serve fresh water, a platter to serve a meal, a vase to hold beautiful flowers.  Did you know that if a flawed area arises in the process, he does NOT throw the project away….he takes it back down to lump form and begins the upward rise again?  The potter does not give up, he carefully crafts the clay despite any imperfections that may arise, into the beautiful piece he knows it will become.  When complete, the potter is satisfied and proud to display his work.  The Lord will not give up on you….you are His work of art.

Matthew 10:29-31 What is the price of two sparrows–one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

Many know this comforting verse.  Sparrows are all around us, too numerous to number, yet we are told that not one in all the world dies without our Father knowing it.  The scripture goes even further, reminding us that our Father even knows how many hairs are on our heads.  Think of that, as special as your spouse is to you, as beloved as your mother, father, brother, sister, or child is to you, you have no idea how many hairs are on their heads.  Yet, you are so special to your Father; He DOES have this information about you.

If he values all sparrows enough to keep track of every one, imagine the value He places on the child on whom He knows each hair.

Jeremiah 1:4-5 The LORD gave me this message: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

The Lord knew you before He even formed you in your mother’s room. 

Jeremiah 29:11:For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you have heard this verse.  Listen to what it says to you….The Lord has PLANS for you.  He didn’t form you, then set your feet on this planet to let you bumble around and to find your way in a random fashion.  He made plans for your life.  His plans for you are for you to prosper.  To prosper is to be successful.  The Lord plans for you to be successful.  And Hope!  The Lord loves you enough to give you hope and make plans for your future.  You must be special for the God of the universe to make plans for your future.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The Lord created you!  Over and over the Bible states that you are the work of His hands!

Psalm 139:16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

The Lord knew you even before you were born. The Lord had every day of your life recorded in His book.  Did your mother have a baby book for you?  Did you keep a school book for your children?  You only go to the effort to keep a book about all the details of someone’s life when that someone is VERY special to you.  God is keeping details about you in a book because you are that special to Him.

 1 Corinthians 12:25-28 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those who have the gift of leadership, those who speak in unknown languages.

AND

1 Peter 4:10-11 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

The Lord considers each of us so special, that He didn’t give us all the same gifts.  He handpicked a particular gift for each of us. 

 Psalm 139:2-4 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.

The day to day activities of life can seem mundane.  Do you know every time your  own child stands or sits?  Do you even give it a great deal of thought when you do it yourself?  God knows when you do.  He knows your thoughts, keeps His eye on you when you travel and when you stay home.  He even knows your words before you form them. The God of history, the present, and the future…the Creator of the entire Universe considers you so special, He is mindful of your every act, thought, and word.

Romans 8:32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?

For whom would you give your own child as a sacrifice?  The Lord gave you, gave YOU, His very own son to pay the penalty of your sin so you can gain entrance to Heaven.  Would He have permitted His own son to suffer for you if you were not special to Him?

Father,

We realize that our sins break Your divine laws and that the penalty for our transgressions is eternal death and separation from you.  We are grateful that You sent Your own beloved Son as a sinless sacrifice for us….that His death atones for our sins….that because He paid the penalty of death with His death to give us an everlasting life.  We openly confess our full faith in our salvation through Jesus Christ.  Help us, daily, to grow in our personal relationship with Jesus, so that we will better know the One that died so that will live. 

It is in the name of Jesus we pray, Amen

The same Christ that is present in the Old Testament, revealed in the New Testament, and displayed in Creation is the same Christ that is interwoven in the fabric of the lives of His people.  God is the Master of the Universe, yet cares deeply about every tiny detail of your day.  Seek the Biblical lessons to be learned in all of your experiences.