Parable of the Two Boxes

I’ve always loved the parables that Jesus told, and appreciated that each time I read them I receive a different lesson or even a repeated lesson that helps me in my daily walk with Christ. Over the years I’ve even received inspiration to write a parable or two and so I may share some of those here. This one is a parable that came to me around Christmas time as I watched my youngest daughter and my granddaughter open their gifts. I hope you enjoy reading it and that it blesses your soul for the Lord. Here it is…

Parable of the Two Boxes

There once was a man who came to his door each day with thoughts of what the day would hold. Each day he would look out hoping for a blessing, but usually all he saw was a beggar woman, homeless, dirty, and begging for a handout. Each day he yelled out at the woman to leave his yard because she made his beautiful home look worse. He did not care for her needs in any way.
Then one day when he opened the door the man noticed two gift wrapped packages lying on his doorstep. Each was addressed to the resident of the house. He noticed that one box was very large, and one was quite a bit smaller. The smaller package was wrapped in a plain brown colored wrapping, and looked quite beat up. It was tied with simple twine, and was torn a bit exposing the plain brown box underneath. The smaller package looked dirty as if it had been drug through the mud. The second package, which was huge compared to the other, was wrapped in the shiniest red paper which was adorned with beautiful golden crosses on it. It had a golden ribbon stretched around all four sides and was topped with a big, beautiful golden bow and streamers of golden ribbon.
The man also received a card with the two packages. When he opened it, he noticed a simple set of instructions that he needed to follow. The man was instructed to choose between the two packages. He could only have one for himself, and the other package would then be taken and given to someone else at a later time.
The man set the card down and decided to take a good look at the two boxes before he made his choice, even though one glance at the packages had already influenced his decision of which one seemed more pleasing to take. Looking at the smaller gift, he was already disgusted and did not want to lift it at all. It was filthy, torn, and couldn’t hold anything of value by the looks of it. The man could tell that it had a rough journey getting there, and whatever was in it was probably broken from the abuse it received. It looked old, and he figured it must have been rejected many times in the past. Why should he choose something no one else seem to want either?
The second box, however, was quite appealing to the man. He is filled with excitement just thinking of the treasure this grand box must hold. The box looked brand new, as did the wrapping. The man thought this must be the first time it had been offered to anyone, and was honored that he had been the chosen recipient. He reveled in the fact that it was so grandly wrapped, thinking that something so beautifully wrapped must be expensive. He felt encouraged by the appearance of the golden crosses, no one surely would put anything in a package that bore the mark of God. Surely the person who gifted it was a good person who believed in God, and would do him no ill. How was he going to choose which package he wanted?
He chided himself for wanting to choose the beautiful one too quickly. He must look as if he really put some thought into the process.
The man decided he would shake the packages. This will make the neighbors think I found the smaller to be broken. He picked up the smaller gift, feeling disgusted at the feel of the dirt on the outside. He made a mental note to wash his hands as soon as he returned inside with his chosen box. When he shook the box, the man was not surprised to hear a rattle because he expected that whatever it held was already broken. He quickly put the box down, not giving it another thought. The man than lifted the larger box, which he thought was extremely heavy and unbalanced. It must contain more than one thing, he thought. He was surprised to hear the large box rattle as well, but thought to himself that it must contain coins or jewels that were banging together as he shook it. He knew than this was the perfect box for him, but the man thought he still must look as if he was being thoughtful about his choice. Who knows, the giver might be watching him? The man thought, maybe if I appear to have taken great measures to choose the one gift, the giver might in the future bestow another gift of great value on him for his efforts.
After a few moments of posturing himself as if thinking seriously about both packages, the man, knowing which gift was perfect for him reached down to pick it up and carry it into him house. He knew this was the perfect gift and had everything going for it from beautiful packaging, to having the mark of godliness upon it. It offered him the greatest possibilities of security and hope, and the promises of only the best and richest of treasures. Quickly he picked up the second, more ornate box, and turned to take it into his house. As he turned though, the man used the heel of his foot to boot the smaller box off his porch and into the front yard, causing it to land with a hard thud onto a dirt patch in front of his home, the dirt patch where the homeless woman sat day in and day out. That homeless woman just arriving to her usual spot grew excited at the gift that lay where she usually spent her time seeking a little help to get her through her rough life.
The man could not wait to get his gift opened. He thought about ripping off the wrapping, but then he didn’t want to ruin it, after all it looked expensive. Knowing he could always save himself some money later by reusing this wrapping, the man slowing removed the ribbon and bow, then opened each taped edge even slower as to not rip any of the edges. He wanted to preserve the wrapping so no one in the future would be able to tell that it was reused gift wrap. The man was surprised to see that the box under the wrapping was just as wonderful as the paper itself. He just knew that the gift inside must be very special for the giver to spend so much to cover it up. So the man again took his time to open the box, preserving it as new for later use. If anything when he shared with his family the gift he was given, he could show them how wonderfully it had been wrapped. They would surely think he was someone special to have received such an expensive and wonderful gift.
Meanwhile the homeless woman, having nothing but struggles throughout her life, opened up the smaller, rejected gift. She had such meager possessions that even though the gift was battered and beat up she held it in her arms as if it was the greatest treasure ever found. Quickly, the woman tore off the twine and the brown wrapping paper, and ripped open the lid of the box. The box inside was not a struggle to open because it was just as beaten up as the wrappings that once covered it. It, too, carried the markings of a long, hard journey. At the sight of the worn wrapping paper and box, the woman felt a kinship with the package. Her journey through life had been a difficult one also. Both she and the package had been misunderstood, tossed aside by the world, and mistreated by so many in their past. Before looking inside the woman lifted the box into her arms again and pulled it close to her, she hugged it as if to let it know that she understood and the woman promised to treasure this gift forever because of what it had been through just to be given to her.
The woman thought to herself, “I’m not worthy of this gift, but I will accept it because it must have been meant to help me…maybe even to save me from my hard existence.”
The woman, feeling a great surge of hope and mercy, slowly lifted the lid of the box to peer inside. She showed great respect, love and compassion for this gift that had travelled a similar journey to her own. Now finally it had come into her life, so she could possess and care for all that it held for her.
Two different people, two different gifts being opened and possessed fully by their owners. One gift in brightly ornate, expensively decorated wrapping. The other gift bashed up, and wrapped in dirty, torn, bruised wrappings. Two new owners of the gifts, one entranced by the outer adornment of his gift, and the other treasuring the kinship she feels with her gift because of the similarities of what they both had gone through to get to this point where they are together. You might be wondering what was in each gift when they finally opened up the boxes, well let me tell you.
The woman’s box contained a simple, warm blanket, a wool coat, a pair of shoes, a loaf of bread, and a canteen of water. It also contained a letter with the promise to the new owner of a mansion waiting for them at the end of a journey they must take to get to know the sender of the gift. The letter gave them directions on where to go to find the sender and a map to follow, with instructions that the items in the box would be helpful for the trip. The woman quickly put on the shoes, packed up the box, and started on the journey. She knew that she couldn’t leave the box behind, that this journey they would make together and it would be a joyous time for both of them. At the end they would meet the sender and thank him for bringing them together.
The man’s gift, however, did not contain the same things as the woman’s gift had held. As the man opened his gift, his excitement had grown. His thoughts varied from wanting to share the gift to not wanting anyone to touch his great treasure. With each time he moved the gift to undo its trappings, it would rattle, and with each rattle he heard the man just knew that this must be something of great wealth and value just for him. With each thought the man’s self-pride grew, and puffing his chest out, he thought what a special man he must be for someone to send him such a valuable gift. Even more now he could not wait to hold the treasure in his hand. How the world would look upon the man’s greatness for the treasure from this gift that now he possessed. The man closed his eyes as he lifted the lid and reached into the box, wanting not to see it until the treasure actually lay in his hands. Seconds after reaching into the box the man dropped to the floor, and breathed his last breath. He left the world with a look of fear, regret, and horror. Around his body, and from the open box slithered the most dangerous and poisonous snakes of the world. The treasure that he coveted most, turned out to be the thing that would end his life. He had been a fool for the grand outer adornment of the promised gift.
The moral of this story is based on an old, but wise cliche’…”You can’t judge a gift by its cover.” Jesus, God’s greatest gift to us, came in a simple stable, laid in a crudely built manger, and walked on dusty roads to share God’s love with all who would hear. He was beaten, mocked, bruised, rejected, and died on an old rugged cross. Jesus was buried in a cold, dark tomb, and rose from the dead to return to heaven to prepare a place for all who would believe in him, and come to treasure their relationship with him. Jesus walked our same roads, journeyed through the struggles and trials of life on earth, just as we have, and came so that we would not have to struggle alone anymore. With Christ comes a future for us eternally in heaven. He has given us directions and a map to follow that will lead us to him and the mansion he is preparing for us in his kingdom. All we have to do is accept him as our Savior and Lord. Have you asked him for forgiveness of your sins, and asked him to cleanse you from that which covers your soul with filth? Are you willing to trust him to help you through the trials and tribulations of life?
In this world there will be many who come to us like the ornate gift the man received. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing, saying they know what God really wants for you, that there are many paths to heaven, that God will take everyone to heaven no matter how much you sin or even if you don’t believe. These charlatans will promise you the world, riches, wealth and fame, and they will set all kinds of temptations before you. But beware these are all false promises. They may seem beautiful from the outside, but inside they are just the trappings of Satan, the great evil serpent from the Garden of Eden. They will lure you in with the beauty of the promises and then snatch your life away with the deception they deliver once you are involved in them. In the end they will leave you with nothing but an eternity of fiery Hell, and a death mask showing regret, shock, and even horror for the world to see, all earned from the choices you made out of lust, greed, and vanity. Now which choice really is the best for you?

 

Maintain the Difference (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Maintain the Difference
October 29
And I will put a division between my people and thy people: tomorrow shall this sign be. (Exodus 8:23)

Pharaoh has a people, and the Lord has a people. These may dwell together and seem to fare alike, but there is a division between them, and the Lord will make it apparent. Not forever shall one event happen alike to all, but there shall be great difference between the men of the world and the people of Jehovah’s choice.
This may happen in the time of judgments, when the Lord becomes the sanctuary of His saints. It is very conspicuous in the conversion of believers when their sin is put away, while unbelievers remain under condemnation. From that moment they become a distinct race, come under a new discipline, and enjoy new blessings. Their homes, henceforth, are free from the grievous swarms of evils which defile and torment the Egyptians. They are kept from the pollution of lust, the bite of care, the corruption of falsehood, and the cruel torment of hatred, which devour many families.
Rest assured, tried believer, that though you have your troubles you are saved from swarms of worse ones, which infest the homes and hearts of the servants of the world’s prince. The Lord has put a division; see to it that you keep up the division in Spirit, aim, character, and company.

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

Among the Redeemed (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Among the Redeemed
September 26
Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be redeemed among the nations. (Numbers 23:9)

Who would wish to dwell among the nations and to be numbered with them? Why, even the professing church is such that to follow the Lord fully within its bounds is very difficult. There is such a mingling and mixing that one often sighs for “a lodge in some vast wilderness.”
Certain it is that the Lord would have His people follow a separated path as to the world and come out decidedly and distinctly from it. We are set apart by the divine decree, purchase, and calling, and our inward experience has made us greatly to differ from men of the world; and therefore our place is not in their Vanity Fair, nor in their City of Destruction, but in the narrow way where all true pilgrims must follow their Lord.
This may not only reconcile us to the world’s cold shoulder and sneers but even cause us to accept them with pleasure as being a part of our covenant portion. Our names are not in the same book, we are not of the same seed, we are not bound for the same place, neither are we trusting to the same guide; therefore it is well that we are not of their number. Only let us be found in the number of the redeemed, and we are content to be off and solitary to the end of the chapter.

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

We Receive as We Give (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
We Receive as We Give
May 16
Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. (Matthew 5:7)

It is not meet that the man who will not forgive should be forgiven, nor shall he who will not give to the poor have his own wants relieved. God will measure to us with our own bushels, and those who have been hard masters and hard creditors will find that the Lord will deal hardly with them. “He shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy.”
This day let us try to give and to forgive. Let us mind the two bears – bear and forbear. Let us be kind, gentle, and tender. Let us not put harsh constructions upon men’s conduct, nor drive hard bargains, nor pick foolish quarrels, nor be difficult to please. Surely we wish to be blessed, and we also want to obtain mercy: let us be merciful, that we may have mercy. Let us fulfill the condition, that we may earn the beatitude. Is it not a pleasant duty to be kind? Is there not much more sweetness in it than in being angry and ungenerous? Why, there is a blessedness in the thing itself! Moreover, the obtaining of mercy is a rich reward. What but sovereign grace could suggest such a promise as this’. We are merciful to our fellow mortal in pence, and the Lord forgives us “all the debt.”

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

Power to Raise (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Power to Raise
April 22
The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down. (Psalm 146:8)

Am I bowed down? Then let me urge this word of grace before the Lord. It is His way, His custom, His promise, His delight, to raise up them that are bowed down. Is it a sense of sin and a consequent depression of spirit which distresses me? Then the work of Jesus is, in this case, made and provided to raise me up into rest. O Lord, raise me, for Thy mercy’s sake!
Is it a sad bereavement or a great fall in circumstances? Here again the Comforter has undertaken to console. What a mercy for us that one Person of the sacred Trinity should become the Comforter! This work will be well done since such a glorious One has made it His peculiar care.
Some are so bowed down that only Jesus can loose them from their infirmity, but He can, and He will, do it. He can raise us up to health, to hope, to happiness. He has often done so under former trials, and He is the same Savior and will repeat His deeds of lovingkindness. We who are today bowed down and sorrowful shalt yet be set on high, and those who now mock at us shall be greatly ashamed. What an honor to be raised up by the Lord! It is worthwhile to be bowed down that we may experience His upraising power.

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

Look and Live (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Look and Live
April 10
And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shalt come to pass, that everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. (Numbers 21:8)

This is a glorious gospel type. Jesus, numbered with the transgressors, hangs before us on the cross. A look to Him will heal us of the serpent-bite of sin; will heal us at once — “When he looketh upon it, he shall live.” Let the reader who is mourning his sinfulness note the words — “Everyone that looketh upon it shall live.” Every looker will find this true. I have found it so. I looked to Jesus and lived at once, I know I did. Reader, if you look to Jesus you will live, too. True, you are swelling with the venom, and you see no hope, True, also there is no hope but this one. But this is no doubtful cure — “Everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.”
The brazen serpent was not lifted up as a curiosity to be gazed upon by the healthy; but its special purpose was for those who were “bitten.” Jesus died as a real Savior for real sinners. Whether the bite has made you a drunkard, or a thief, or an unchaste or a profane person, a look at the great Savior will heal you of these diseases and make you live in holiness and communion with God. Look and live.

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

Not Forgotten (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Not Forgotten
April 5
Thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. (Isaiah 44:21)

Our Jehovah cannot so forget His servants as to cease to love them. He chose them not for a time but forever. He knew what they would be when He called them into the divine family. He blots out their sins like a cloud; and we may be sure that He will not turn them out of doors for iniquities which He has blotted out. It would be blasphemy to imagine such a thing.
He will not forget them so as to cease to think of them. One forgetful moment on the part of our God would be our ruin. Therefore He says, “Thou shalt not be forgotten of me,” Men forget us; those whom we have benefited turn against us. We have no abiding place in the fickle hearts of men; but God will never forget one of His true servants. He binds Himself to us not by what we do for Him but by what He has done for us. We have been loved too long and bought at too great a price to be now forgotten. Jesus sees in us His soul’s travail, and that He never can forget. The Father sees in us the spouse of His Son, and the Spirit sees in us His own effectual work. The Lord thinketh upon us. This day we shall be succored and sustained. Oh, that the Lord may never be forgotten of us!

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

Sins of Ignorance (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook)

From Charles Spurgeon’s “Faith’s Checkbook”
Sins of Ignorance
October 28
And it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance. (Numbers 15:25)

Because of our ignorance we are not fully aware of our sins of ignorance. Yet we may be sure they are many, in the form both of commission and omission. We may be doing in all sincerity, as a service to God, that which He has never commanded and can never accept.
The Lord knows these sins of ignorance every one. This may well alarm us, since in justice He will require these trespasses at our hand; but on the other hand, faith spies comfort in this fact, for the Lord will see to it that stains unseen by us shall yet be washed away. He sees the sin that He may cease to see it by casting it behind His back.
Our great comfort is that Jesus, the true priest, has made atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel. That atonement secures the pardon of unknown sins. His precious blood cleanses us from all sin. Whether our eyes have seen it and wept over it or not, God has seen it, Christ has atoned for it, the Spirit bears witness to the pardon of it, and so we have a threefold peace.
O my Father, I praise Thy divine knowledge, which not only perceives my iniquities but provides an atonement which delivers me from the guilt of them, even before I know that I am guilty.

From the Faith’s Checkbook Mobile Devotional Android app – http://www.LookingUpwardApps.com/fcb

 

Bible Verse

Psa 32
Psalm 32

A Psalm of David, Maschil.

1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity,

and in whose spirit there is no guile.

3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old

through my roaring all the day long.

4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me:

my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee,

and mine iniquity have I not hid.

I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord;

and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

6 For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found:

surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.

7 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble;

thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:

I will guide thee with mine eye.

9 Be ye not as the horse,

or as the mule, which have no understanding:

whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle,

lest they come near unto thee.

10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked:

but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.

11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous:

and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.
� KJV