The acorns being crushed as one drives in and out of our driveway sound like we are making popcorn. The oaks must have enjoyed the dry summer because we have an abundance of acorns. The squirrels are going crazy trying to cache them away for the coming winter. They will be well fed during this January’s blizzards.
I love acorns. Holding them in my hand reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite authors. She wrote, “As surely as the oak is in the acorn so surely is the gift of God in the promise.” There are over 3500 promises in the Bible. That’s a forest of good things to anticipate. One of the last promises found in Revelation says, “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be my son.” I don’t want to be greedy. I don’t need to inherit “all” things. I will be happy with forgiveness and eternal life with my loved ones. But our heavenly Father is a lavish giver. That’s a promise in Ephesians 2. God isn’t content with giving us the basics. He wants to give us “all things.”
Paul says what we will receive is beyond what we can now imagine. The Gospel is a story of excess. Excessive love, excessive forgiveness, excessive lifespan, excessive health, excessive intelligence, excessive power, excessive understanding and excessive happiness are just a few of the things we are promised.
Right now I am going to go out to my driveway and pick up a few oak trees and carry them about in my pocket today. Then I will not forget how very much you and I are loved. Oh, how grand!
Written by Roger Bothwell on October 18, 2016
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