Unused

Rummaging through my purse, I grab out stacks of receipts that have been shoved inside over the past several weeks - some crumpled, some flat, some piled, some not. I briefly browse the heaps, setting each aside and reaching in for more. Digging further, I extract my checkbook, my lipstick, my car keys, and a few stray quarters. But where is that small piece of paper where I jotted down an important address? After several quick passes through the black shoulder bag, I resort to a more thorough examination. I reach for the stacks that have been carelessly tossed onto the table and begin going through them, piece by piece in search of a white, square post-it note with black handwriting.

I pass by a Wal-Mart receipt, an outdated grocery list (might as well keep it; I probably need the same items again), and a stick of cinnamon gum. Then, flipping through another pile, I make an unexpected discovery... a small rectangular piece of plastic hidden amongst old receipts. It’s a gift card, left unused and forgotten over time.

Have you ever found one of these?

A loved one gave it to you for Christmas or your birthday, Father’s Day or simply as a surprise. You smiled at the time, feeling blessed by their thoughtful gesture, and you placed the card in your wallet or purse so you’d have it at hand when the time came to redeem it.

Days and months pass, with a few random reminders of the piece of plastic that lays waiting for use. It’s cash in hand. “I’ve got to remember to use that,” you say.

Slowly, over time though, the card is forgotten. It becomes a part of your wallet – something you possess everyday, but no longer notice or appreciate.

After my exhaustive purse search, I sat at the kitchen table with a piece of plastic in hand – a piece of plastic that triggered haunting thoughts of unused gifts.

Sadly, this is often the case in my spiritual life. The treasure of Christ in me, the life-altering gift of salvation, and the hope of eternity are now just the background of my life – the things that I received with great anticipation and now live with as if they’re nothing special. They get shuffled about as I rummage for meaning in a dark and disordered world. But they often remain unused, unrealized, untapped.

Occasionally, their truth catches my eye again and ushers in reminders of how blessed I’ve been to receive them. In renewed excitement, I’ll move them to the front of my purse. I want to redeem them, use them, and share them with those around me.

But days pass by again, and soon I’ve let them slip back down.

How foolish it is to forget the meaning of a gift, to lose sight of the heart of its Giver, and to let its treasure become buried in a pile of trash.

Today, take a moment to reflect on the unending gift card of grace, the one-time transaction that rescued you from meaninglessness, from depravity, from death. Remember the joy of your salvation and the heart of the One who gave. Reflect on eternity. And retrieve what you’ve lost.