I was walking down Battery Park Avenue towards F. W. Woolworth on Haywood Street. It was the summer of 68’. A carefree time of endless summer days and baseball! I thought about the baseball cards I was going to buy with money earned from mowing yards. I approached the counter and searched through the boxes for the packs I wished to purchase.
Anticipation and excitement grew as I opened my packs. Would I have any “good” cards? The first two cards of the five-card pack were of nondescript players. Much to my surprise the third card was the ever-elusive Mickey Mantle! The next card was Willie Mays! Now you probably will not believe me, but the final card in the pack was another Mickey Mantle! The “dream” pack was loaded like none I had ever seen.
Somehow these cards survived my childhood to this day. I have never thought of the “dream” pack as rubbish. What about you? When you look around your room and see all your possessions, do you think of them as rubbish?
The apostle Paul certainly thought all he had ever had was rubbish, meaningless and of no value. He realized the only thing that really mattered was his relationship with Jesus.
If every baseball card pack I purchased as a youth was a “dream” pack they would indeed be rubbish. Something to leave behind once I have left this world. The only thing really important in this life is our relationship with Jesus. He alone is our hope and answer to all our questions. This relationship with Jesus is available to all, not a select few. Our relationship with him is the one true thing we can leave this earth with. What a blessing that will be!
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, thank you for the confidence we can have in our relationship with you. You are all we need now and in the hereafter. Help us to show this to others. In Jesus name, Amen.
