Unattractive Package
When our grandson was six, he wanted to gift and wrap his own Christmas presents. Many of his gifts came from his collection of “treasures” that ranged from snail shells, to ordinary small rocks, to weathered glass fragments. His unique wrapping method consisted of half a roll of wrapping paper, a large sheet of aluminum foil and a whole dispenser of Scotch tape looped and wrapped over itself countless times. The result was an oversized, odd-looking package that required the work of scissors, possibly pliers, and great patience to unwrap. Thankfully, my curiosity regarding the gift outweighed my reluctance to tackle the unwrapping. No one could have guessed that he had made me a keepsake snowman ornament out of wooden beads and pipe cleaners.
Unfortunately, it is easy to miss a blessing because we don’t like the package it comes in. This is especially true when applied to people. Many of us will make the mistake of judging another person based upon his/her status, knowledge, personal bias, misinformation, or merely the way they present themselves. When looking for expert information, we tend to reject those without degrees as having insufficient knowledge. To our disgrace, we are often dismissive of those enduring trials, rather than recognizing God’s work of utilizing the hardship to grow them in Christ. We have even been known to question God’s counsel through our spouses, children, or extended family because we are so familiar with their shortcomings and faults.
Moses had an interesting encounter with His father-in-law, Jethro, after the Red Sea miracle, as Jethro was accompanying Moses’ wife and sons to a rendezvous in the Sinai desert. Jethro was troubled that the Israelites were coming to Moses endlessly with issues requiring God’s judgments. Moses explained, “Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and laws.” (Exodus 18:16) As a Midianite priest, Jethro apparently had the audacity to circumvent God’s assignment to Moses by advising him to share the load with trustworthy men and judge the most difficult cases himself. Had Moses not been a man of great humility, he probably would have rejected the advice outright because of its source. In fact, God used an unlikely vessel to give Moses a message that God could have given Moses Himself, except that He was testing Moses’ ability to recognize Him.
Not only have most of us failed the test by rejecting God’s messengers on occasion, but many of us have felt that rejection by others when we’re trying to fulfill God’s assignment. It is a painful experience on two levels: the personal rejection and the sadness that the person will continue to suffer. When we are rejected, it is tempting to believe there is actually something wrong or inadequate with us. We forget that even Jesus could not do many miracles in His hometown because of the locals’ unbelief. Jesus had been tagged and dismissed as the carpenter’s son.
The lesson of missing a precious gift because of its distasteful wrapping is vitally important to grasp. Like a ruby embedded in rough ordinary-looking stone, God has created each person with special gifts perhaps hidden to the naked eye, but revealed through the lens of the Holy Spirit. We must intentionally partner with Him to see with spiritual eyes. As the Lord told Samuel, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7b)
When in God’s service we find ourselves on the receiving end of rejection, we need to recall what Jesus told His disciples. “Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; but whoever rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.” (Luke 10:16) Amazingly, Jesus illuminated great blessing in rejection. “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12) Perhaps being treated in this way will give us the humility to look beyond an unattractive package to receive God’s special gift.