I read a story recently of a slave owner who loved one of his slaves very much. So much so that he wanted to give the man his freedom. After the benevolent slave owner’s death, he left this free man an inheritance of over $50,000. Of course that would be more like a million dollars today. The interesting part to me was that even though the free man knew about the money, months passed and he never withdrew any. When his banker explained what was available to him, the man is quoted to have said,
“Well, Sir, do you think I can have 50 cents to buy a sack of corn meal?”
I love this verse. I love how it highlights a small part of what God is really like toward us. Gifts are on all our minds at this time of year. But even more than we love to give to those we love, how much more shall our Father give! God is not limited in His resources. God is not limited in His understanding of our needs and desires. That’s amazing! It’s not because of who we are or what we’ve done but because of Who He is. Our asking is simply believing that He’s THAT good.
This “much more” isn’t just physical needs and desires, but spiritual as well. We can talk about grace, but do we draw from His riches daily? Do we try to make due on corn meal? We know we need His mercy. But do we forget that He DELIGHTS in mercy and is able to make all grace abound toward me?
The truth of the matter is that though we deserve nothing, His disposition is one of giving MUCH MORE. His goodness goes before or prevents us. His goodness follows us all the days of our lives.
