The Unopened Parcel

The Unopened Parcel

My husband and I travelled from Australia to New Zealand, meeting up with two of our adult daughters, to then spend some time with my husband’s family and to attend our nephew’s wedding. The first week in New Zealand we enjoyed with our family, while our nephew James played tour guide for us. He kindly drove us around to see the interesting city sights of Christchurch, the beaches of ashen sand and to entertaining street markets where we could enjoy buying souvenirs. 

I love buying presents and being in another country just gave me another opportunity to be able to pour my love into family and friends by buying New Zealand souvenirs for them all. I started at the street market stalls and then spied a shop titled “Souvenirs”, which I found was an Aussie shoppers paradise. With much delight and joy I picked up item after item, Maori hand carved bone and wooden articles, t-shirts, base ball caps, pens, stuffed toys, mugs, key rings and much more. With loving thought, prayer and planning I chose many gifts. 

Finally our pleasurable holiday in New Zealand was over. I had continued, while touring the south Island after my nephews wedding, to take advantage of delightfully buying even more presents until I had a bag bulging with souvenirs. We flew back to Australia and with much eagerness I planned on giving my gifts to their recipients.

One parcel of presents was assigned to a family in the USA. Each present had been lovingly chosen and thoughtfully wrapped and with flourishes of ribbon adding a final touch. Clutching a copy of the address, I took the gifts to the post office, placed them in a box and sent them on their way. With much eagerness and anticipation I waited for the day they would arrive and thought of the joy the family would receive upon their arrival.

Finally the day came and the parcel arrived. It was carried into the house and talked about with much expectation and a skype meeting was in the planning so the family could open the gifts online with me. Alas, however, plans were suddenly and unexpectedly  rearranged. Extended family members who were arriving to stay for a while appeared earlier than previously thought and all arrangements to open the parcel on skype was put on hold. 

Hour after hour as extended family members came and went filling the house up with much chatter, laughter, meals and time of togetherness, the parcel remained unopened. Hours turned into days and days turned into weeks. Finally family dwindled away, the house resumed normality and time was made to just sit and enjoy opening the parcel on skype. What fun we had as each present was opened and I shared the stories of how I bought it, where I bought it and why I bought it. Smiles and joy and happiness abounded as each gift of love from me was opened and cherished. My heart was filled with overflowing to see the pleasure the family gained from the gifts.

That unopened parcel reminded me so much of the gifts from God. When I chose Jesus to be my Saviour from sin and to be the Lord of my life I received from Him the gift of salvation. It was like a parcel with many gifts wrapped up inside. God doesn’t just want me to be saved eternally and have that *parcel* in my hands, He has also enjoyed pouring His love into me and wrapping up many gifts that come with the parcel of salvation. His gifts are full of His love and He wants me to unwrap them and treasure them and enjoy them. The Bible tells us of the gift of the Holy Spirit, of the gift of faith, repentance, the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, gifts of healing, teaching, evangelizing, languages, discernment, prayer, the gift of  prophecy, miracles, joy, forgiveness, encouragement and more. The bible tells us of many gifts all loving wrapped by God who wants to do so much more than just give us salvation. He wants us to have a life of abundant joy and to be able to share that joy with others. Do I hold in my hands God’s unopened parcel? Do I dare to open the parcel and see all that God has given to me? Will I unwrap the gifts?

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.