begging on the beach

Matthew 7:11“If you, then though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!"
God, our Father, delights to give us good gifts.
I watched as three young children approach people on the beach. Two of them struggled to carry a five-gallon bucket. The third wore ten or fifteen straw hats with brightly colored bands streaming out behind him. I wondered what they were doing, these kids of about eight to ten years of age.
Eventually, they came up to me. "Senora, would you like some tamales, made fresh this morning by my mama?" one of them asked. Then, I knew. They were selling tamales and hats to earn a few dollars for their family. The rich Americans would surely buy a few of their wares, and they would be able to pay the rent and buy food for another day.
After buying a straw hat and a couple of tamales, I thought about this experience. What motivated three children to approach a stranger on the beach? Why weren't they in school? Why did their mother and father permit, perhaps even require, them to do this? The only answer was the dire need for income. Poverty had pressed them into service.
Scripture records hundreds of God's promises to His children. Yet, we often walk down the beach of life begging strangers for what we need. We sell little bits of ourselves for the price of being loved and accepted by people, many of them strangers. We expect money and friends to make us happy. We try to fill our empty hearts with fruitless entertainment and busy lives. Why?
Perhaps, we seek meaning and joy from the things of the world because we don't know how rich and generous our Father is. We don't understand that He would gladly give us anything we ask for that would be to our benefit.
What a pity it would have been to discover that the children selling hats and tamales on the beach were the sons and daughters of the richest man in town, a man who would gladly have given them food and clothing! How tragic it would have been to discover that their father earnestly wanted them to go to school. Imagine how hurt he would have been because they didn’t let him provide and care for them out of his abundant resources.
Most of us, as believers, live in spiritual poverty because we don't ask our Father for what we need. We fail to experience His bounty because we're so busy begging on the beaches of the world. Jesus stated that God delights to give good gifts to His children who ask. Let's start asking God, rather than the world, to love us and fulfill us. What joy we'll find as we go to the only reliable and gracious source for all we yearn to have and experience in our lives!
Today’s Prayer:
Holy Father, forgive me for begging from the world when I could just ask You for the emotional and spiritual food and clothing I need. I want to be a child who honors You by allowing You to take care of me. Teach me how, Lord, please.
Written by Martha E Menne, Flagstaff Arizona