07.01
When I was a kid, I loved to eat Cracker Jack. If you have no clue what I’m talking about, shame on you . . .just Google it. But you need to know that Cracker Jack is as American as baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and the car company formerly known as Chevrolet (see upcoming blog on my thoughts about Obama Motors). As a matter of fact, July 5th is Cracker Jack Day for all of you who are keeping track at home . . .I”m sure there are millions of you.
Eating Cracker Jack is like a party in your mouth, but that’s not the point; it’s about the prize in the box. The caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts are good, but there’s something more. Every box of Cracker Jack has a prize: the Bozo tattoo; the decoder ring that doesn’t fit; baseball stickers; a small Chihuahua. Ok, maybe not the Chihuahua, but how cool would that be? It really doesn’t matter what the toy is; it’s the excitement of opening the box, digging through the popcorn, opening the prize and seeing what you got that makes it fun. But you have to work for it, so to speak. You have to unfold, dig, and unwrap to find the prize.
I think King David would’ve loved Cracker Jack, but then again who wouldn’t? Here’s what David wrote in Psalm 119:30: “The unfolding of Your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.” Psalm 119:30 (ESV) David understood what it meant to unfold God’s words and to dig deeply into what He was saying, knowing that the prize was understanding, wisdom, direction, knowledge, and truth.
What would happen, if instead of just casually reading God’s word, you began to ask God to help you unfold it? What if you began to not only enjoy the sweetness of God’s truth–“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Psalm 119:103–but made it a discipline to unwrap, and dig deeper to find the treasure of what God is saying? What a waste to read God’s word and walk away with a sweetness in your mouth, but empty of all the treasures of truth He wants you to discover and hide in your heart.
Savor His words, but don’t miss the prize.
I think I’m going to go get some Cracker Jack.