Blessings from Heaven
Rev. Joseph R. Reid
A young boy had just gotten his driving permit. He asked his father, who was a minister, if they could discuss his use of the car. His father said to him, “I`ll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up, study your Bible more, and get your hair cut, and then we will talk about it.” A month later the boy came back and again asked his father if they could discuss his use of the car. His father said, “Son, I`m real proud of you. You have brought your grades up, you`ve studied your Bible diligently, but you didn’t get a haircut!” The young man waited a moment and replied, “You know dad, I`ve been thinking about that. You know Samson had long hair, Moses had long hair, Noah had long hair, and even Jesus had long hair.” His father replied, “Yes son, and they walked everywhere they went!”
There are no short cuts in life. To move forward we must do what is necessary moment to moment, here, now and in the world to come. I call it receiving blessings from Heaven and we receive those blessings by praying and reflecting on gratitude and by offering our all for the Kingdom. But there is a problem, our lack of real thankfulness and willingness to give up everything for the Kingdom of Heaven. If we don’t learn to be grateful in our prayers for life and be willing to give up all, we will miss the blessings from Heaven which are eternal joy, peace, love and everlasting life here now and in the world to come.
Since we want the blessings of Heaven there are two ways of receiving them. First, we receive blessings from Heaven when our prayers reflect our gratitude for life. American novelist, short story writer, poet and journalist named Stephen Crane (Red Badge of Courage) wrote, “A man said to the universe, ‘Sir, I exist.’ “However,” ‘replied the universe,’ “that fact has not created in me a sense of obligation.” Crane was making the point that unless we tune into the universe; into existence; into God, we will miss our chance of discovering the unknown forces inside us.
I am reminded of my struggles. I knew I had a problem. Other people knew I had a problem contrary to what I thought. And God knew I had a problem. But it was not until I heard a man in AA say, “To fight against drinking is to lose. When we surrender we win.” Surrendering myself to the problem enabled me to overcoming it one day at a time. I surrendered by tuning into God. The tuning that allows us to turn to God is prayer. But not prayer in the sense we think of it, but prayer echoed in our thankfulness for being alive. To pray this prayer we have to be plugged into the hidden treasure inside. This is the treasure hidden by God in the field of our being. Our Bible says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up.” We cover the hidden treasure with our prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving! Only when we do this can we begin to live a life of goodness, truth and beauty otherwise we live a life of untruths, evil and ugliness.
Second, we received blessings from Heaven when we offered all for the Kingdom. Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” This is the only way to receive the blessings of Heaven. We must be ready to sell all we possess and have accumulated. In my sixty-two and a half years of living I have amassed and lost thousands of dollars and untold fortunes. Homes, furniture, cars, and all kinds of stuff have vanished. I’ve lost love ones, friendships and marriages. I’ve lost many things and valued relationships through carelessness, stupidity, ignorance and not knowing the Lord. But, it was not until I became ready to sell everything and lose my life if necessary to have the treasures of eternity, that I have begun receiving the blessings of Heaven.
It adds up to this, receiving blessings from Heaven allows us to seek the eternal. Whatsoever the cost, we seek God first. We stake our all for this hidden treasure. We do this without fail. We give up what we have accumulated and save our immortal soul. Jesus says: “Those who save their lives, lose them: and those who are ready to lose them, attain to life – to life abundant.” The kingdom of heaven is the treasure hidden in the field of our heart. The hidden treasure is the blessings of Heaven.
