The Prize Goes To . . .

      Have you ever really wished for something so badly you can feel the pain it will cause if you don't get it? Did you actually try to do something to make the receiving of it happen or did you just wish for it? We are all upon this earth to earn prizes, so to speak. We refer to them more as blessings though. And in reality we do receive many blessings without doing much, but the really important ones require our part as well.

     Can I just use a very simple analogy? Let's say you have a wonderful dog that you just love. He loves treats, as most all dogs do. But let's add that your particular dog tends to be very lazy. There are some of those as well. Let's say you put a special treat on the floor by your feet. Your dog is lying about 6 feet away. Is his sitting and staring at that treat going to make it move magically towards him? If he really truly wants that treat what does he need to do? In reality all you are asking your dog to do is stand up and move to you and pick up his treat. Or if he would rather he can crawl over! But the point is he is NOT going to be able to enjoy that tasty treat without effort on his part. And many people do require their dogs to do some sort of action response in order  to get a treat. Although sometimes we just give them one because we love them and they deserve it once in a while!

     Now, are we any different? God is the master. And He does have all kinds of treats, prizes, blessings, whichever you choose to call them. Sometimes we do receive blessings with next to no effort from us, but if we really want the choice blessings, those important ones, then we need to get up off the floor, or even crawl over, to reach it! So, in reality, receiving blessings it totally up to us and our efforts. If we will get up and make the effort sooner or later that blessing will come. And part of the effort required may be something we call patience. 

     After all, even Christmas only comes once a year and we have had to learn to be patient for those presents under the tree! Should our patience for things even greater and more wonderful than we understand require less patience than Christmas gifts?