The Insignificant Black Box

Jameson came into my bedroom with a very direct question. “Mom, did you do anything with that black box on my dresser?”


You must know that Jameson is a clutter miser. He throws nothing away on his own, down to the tags and stickers he removes from new clothes. This particular box had originally been the case for a yo-yo that I didn’t even believe he still had. The box had been around for years, similar in size and look to a jewelry box used to package an inexpensive necklace. On a recent day, a day I’d deemed for dusting, I de-cluttered and tossed it in the trash.

“Mom- I had put my money I was saving in there- $280.00.”

Suddenly that unwanted, discarded box became extremely valuable. Not for what it was on the outside, but for what it contained on the inside.

We cannot escape that each one of us is made in the likeness of God, with something of His own breath inside, something of His designing hand having been at work during our being knitted together. Upon arrival on this earth, we are all each dealt differing hands of cards. Some of us play well, some of us, not so well. Diverse environments and family situations certainly lead us in the direction in which we choose to go, or in which we choose not to go. But inside…there is still that one time hand-mark of God. Granted, some squash any resemblance completely, but some walk around desperate for some nurture that they somehow missed.

It’s too often cliché that we never know what a fellow stranger is going through, or has gone through, as our lives cross in the day to day. Troubled eyes look for a kindness, even in the midst of their less than best. The Christian life can be a difficult journey for those who have been on the bottom end of circumstances…those forced to face their futures without a loving parent or nurturing home. The hurt can go so mindlessly deep. For a soul captive to the secular plight of to each his own, unforgiveness is not recognized as the brick wall that it is. Bitterness is not the challenging root of a hard heart. For those being cleansed by the gospel and knowledge of Christ, the stains they never saw become, even if gradual, obvious. There can be a jagged canyon between what the flesh had grown accustomed to for coping, and for what the saved have now been called to for eternity.

“Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” Hebrews 13:1-3

As firm as the ground on its best day, Jesus does not leave us alone. For those calling on the name of the Lord who must travel the cleansing desert any amount of time, God’s Spirit is there, knocking on the heart, reminding us of the way, the Truth and the life, and we come, stall, cry, then hopefully poise ourselves to come some more. How much better the circumstances taste when those who bump into us offer us a smile or some kind expression of, “I value you.” Near to the ones we may think we have no use for, God just may be positioned, waiting for any opportunity to offer peace to that wavering soul.

I scoured the outdoor trash bin and found the precious contents of that useless box and with great joy and relief returned the treasure to its owner, who in turn delighted in its receipt.

Is there any better object lesson for loving those in the process of being reunited to God?