"God gives where He finds empty hands." - St. Augustine

I recently came across this quote and quickly fell in love with it. The thought of us having to empty ourselves to receive what God has to offer us is quite compelling really.

I think of a party I'm at and I am holding a glass of half drunk OJ that the host has so graciously given to me, it being a breakfast party after all, and then this Jesus fellow comes along and says "Hey Ben, you want a sample of this Living Water that I am giving away for free?" I look down at my glass and hold it up for him to fill. Jesus just shakes his head and produces another glass from somewhere inside his many pocketed robe. "Here," he says to me as he fills the glass, "drink this". I look at my glass and then to his. "Shiny" I think to myself. "I really want a drink of that, but I haven't finished my OJ yet. What would the host think if I didn't finish his juice? I mean he must have freshly squeezed the oranges this morning, right?" It takes everything in me to set down the glass of OJ and accept the glass of water that Jesus is offering to me.

OJ analogy aside. I think we as humans carry around this heavy weight of what we think matters in life. We walk around with all of this junk and the crazy thing is, we keep it close to us. We hold on to every little thing, every little word spoken, every moment, every stupid memento from our lives, and the truth is that it really doesn't matter. We are like the raccoon who gets his paws stuck in the trap because he is unwilling to let go of the food inside, but his paws are too big to get out of the trap and he will eventually die holding onto something that he will never be able to have in the end. We as humans hold onto stuff that we should just let go of as well.

Just like the OJ above, we like drinking it, but the matter of the fact is; Living Water trumps everything! We have to set aside the OJ to enjoy it though. Same thing with God's provision, we have to set aside our goals, thoughts, dreams, and short comings to then receive God's blessings and gifts for us.

Christmas was just a few weeks ago, so let me go with this thought. Many of us receive multiple presents at Christmastime. We hold it up for everyone to see, (like Ralphie is holding up his gift to the left) we wear it, use it, play with it, (sometimes just to make others happy) and overall just try to show others how happy we are with our shiny junk. And yet, the whole point of Christmas is Christ's presence here on earth. How can one receive or be in His presence with our hands full? I know that I should drop everything to commune with Him. I am not saying gifts are bad, I am saying how we carry them in our lives can potentially be harmful to what God has for us. Often times when our hands are full and we meet someone for the first time we just smile and give a nod and say "hello." We should be shaking hands. We should be embracing them. Same thing with Christ. Are we embracing Him or are we smiling and nodding and looking utterly stupid while trying to fool Him into thinking we are interested in what He has for us?

Emptying my hands has been on my mind a lot lately. I am no master at it and most certainly will not ever perfect it.  I do however want to be ready to receive what God has to offer me. I will try and set down my OJ and engage more, not just with God, but with the people around me as well. I want to live a life filled with presence not presents. A life filled with open arms to help others and receive others around me. A life filled with opportunities and absolutely no barriers. A life where I let the ultimate guide lead me up the mountain to the wide open vista and wonderful view He has for me.

For now I find it in little snapshots of open handedness. Little jogs up the mountain side. Small adventures into His vast wilderness. My hope is that I will walk hand in hand with Him up there where the air is thin and very few have been, one day. Not empty handed, but hand in hand with Him.

"God gives where He finds empty hands." - St. Augustine