Illustration

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sportscar in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, onthe morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud hewas to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautifully wrappedgift box. 

Curious, and somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible,with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angry, he rose his voice to his father and said "with all yourmoney, you give me a Bible?" and stormed out of the house. 

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home andwonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had notseen him since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him hisfather had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately andtake care of things. 

When he arrived at his father's house, a sudden feeling of sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to searchthrough his father's important papers and saw the still gift-wrapped Bible, just as he had left it years ago. Withtears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. His father had carefully underlined a verse, Matt.7:11,"And if ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Fatherwhich is in Heaven, give to those who ask Him?" 

As he read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, thesame dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the wordsPAID IN FULL. 

Quote

How can I believe in God when just last week I got my tongue caught in the roller of an electric typewriter?
—Woody Allen

Verse

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
—1 Corinthians 13:2

Commentary

We were not raised in a wealthy family, but we were rich. With eight children, mom and dad had to be a little creative around Christmas to make sure that everyone felt fairly treated and had gifts they would appreciate. Sometimes, the more a child has, the less he appreciates anything. My memories were always that we received so much. We were always overwhelmed with what our parents did for us. 

Mom had. . . scratch that, HAS more energy than any woman I've ever known.  She made 5 piece outfits for all the girls (and even inlaws) for years. The gift that I remember and appreciated above all gifts was a shirt that mom made for me. It was a workshirt, just like my dad's. It had the company logo, "Farmer-Harter-Farmer" on the back and my name on the front, over the pocket. This wasn't a shirt made of cheap material. It was heavy, it fit perfectly, and when I wore it, I knew I was special. The shirts mom made were better by far than any shirts you could buy in a store. I would wear them long after I had outgrown them, even when I had plenty of other clean clothes.

8/7/01