God’s Preparation

A woman had three sons, each married with children of their own. All three were scheduled to arrive at her house at 11:00 a.m. for lunch on Thanksgiving day.

For days she carefully planned the menu. Most of the Wednesday was spent cooking desserts. She put the turkey in the oven at 5:00 Thanksgiving morning. The table was adorned with her best dishes and gleaming, polished silverware. By 10:45 everything was ready. She had done her best and she was pleased with her efforts.

Our Reaction

Then she heard voices and strange noises from the area behind the house where the trash cans were located. When she looked outside she could hardly believe her eyes. There were all three of her sons, along with their families, sitting in a circle around her trash cans. They were eating garbage from the cans.

Using the trash can lids as serving trays, they were eating potato and apple peels, carrot tops and orange rinds. As she watched, they scraped out what was left from discarded vegetable cans and frozen food boxes.

She rushed outside, horrified at their behavior. “All of you come into the house this instant,” she cried. “This is crazy. I have a wonderful meal inside for you. Why would you want to eat garbage out here when I have turkey and mashed potatoes and hot rolls and apple pie waiting for you in the kitchen?”

The first son replied, “I’m sure you have a good meal inside, but we don’t deserve any better than this. We have neglected you lately, and this is all we have a right to expect. It’s good enough for people like us.”

The second son also refused. “This really is not so bad, Mom. If you’ve never tried it, you don’t know what you are missing. Would you like to join us?”

The third son confirmed the decision to stay outside. “I’ve talked it over with my family, and we don’t believe you really have anything better inside. You can’t prepare a meal like you are describing. We think you are lying to us.”

Don’t Be As Foolish As The Three Sons

The foolish, ungrateful behavior of these children causes us to feel outraged. But we act the same way toward God when we refuse the banquet of blessings he has prepared and accept, instead, the trash offered by the world.

God can, and has prepared a daily feast for his children. He wants us to enjoy those good things he has for us. He knows we don’t deserve such treatment, but he still continually offers us the best he has.

To say God cannot bless us is to deny his power. To say that God has not blessed us or will not bless us is to contradict his word. When we live in guilt, ignorance and denial we are as foolish as the three sons.