The Brown Bag Gift

An original story, reminding us of our Priceless Nature.

by Ruth Storkel.

The Brown Bag Gift

A very loving, kind, generous friend would sometimes present me with a pretty gift bag with something special in it. She knew I loved blue bottles and other cut-glass collectibles, so she would find them at antique and thrift stores and surprise me with a lovely gift.One Sunday at church, I was sitting down at the piano to begin playing for the church service. Suddenly “Dolly” brought me a wrinkled brown paper bag. I didn’t have time to look inside the bag and quickly set it aside for later. The church service proceeded with the usual worship time, prayer, sermon, conclusion, etc. After church I hurriedly gathered my belongings and grabbed the wrinkled brown bag too. (I would look inside later).I hurried out to the car, opened the doors, and tossed the rough-looking, unimpressive-looking, wrinkled brown bag onto the car seat……..but then I heard a CLUNK ! “Oh dear! What have I done to the things inside the wrinkled bag?” I said. I had treated it carelessly, estimating that since it was a worn, unattractive-looking bag, whatever was in the bag was probably not worth much![caption id="attachment_15861" align="alignleft" width="225"]

Brown Bag (image courtesy of Ruth Storkel)[/caption]Later when I looked inside the bag, I saw several beautiful cut-glass antique dishes……….and one of them was broken! I was sad when I considered that I had underestimated the value of the gifts in the bag……I should have handled them with care, but because the bag did not impress me, I had been careless! There was no way to repair the one broken item. I was unhappy. But this incident was a great teaching tool where God spoke to me in a profound way.I was reminded of how Jesus looked at people. There were the rich, polished, and arrogant members of society, the hard-working fishermen and farmers with families, the disdained prostitutes, the lepers, the despised tax collectors, drunkards……a wide range of human beings, all being judged by one another as to their worthiness and importance.Some looked perfect and admirable on the outside. Others looked undesirable….. almost worthless!They were either beautiful, fancy, ornate “bags” or “old brown wrinkled bags” outwardly. But Jesus looked on the INSIDE of each person (on the heart). I believe that today as human beings, we often underestimate the worth of people we see day in and day out.Around this time, I was asked if I could provide transportation for a woman who had expressed interest in attending a weekly Bible study I participated in. I agreed to pick her up……. she was a stranger to me. I drove up to her home in a poorly cared-for trailer home court the next week. "Lizzy" came out of her house, and my first reaction upon seeing her was that she was a shabbily-dressed woman, carrying a junky-looking purse and wearing a kooky-looking hat. She smelled of cigarette smoke and was not very well groomed. As we rode, we had a chance to visit before we arrived at the Bible study. Almost immediately, she told me she did not usually go to meetings with other people; people did not like her, she could not make friends easily, etc. I tried to calm her fears and tell her we were glad she was coming to be with us, the women in our group were kind and loving, etc. When we got to the church where we were meeting, I introduced her to a few of the women and helped her find a seat. I went to play the piano and get ready for worship. I glanced over at Lizzy and heard her talking with another lady, and already, within the first 5 minutes, she was in an argument with someone, definitely not doing well on “making friends”! “Oh Lord," I said in my heart, “what have we gotten into here?”It was time to start the meeting and we began praising God in song. The Spirit of the Lord was blessing us and the women were reaching for the Lord. We could feel His wonderful presence as we sang. Then I noticed Lizzy, and she also was opening up to God’s love and presence. She was visibly being moved and touched by God, and the look on her face was amazing! I sat in awe, seeing that this grouchy, unpleasant woman was truly hungry for God, and God saw her heart, and He was meeting her in that moment. My heart changed, and suddenly I realized how much God loved and valued her; He saw her pain, the wounds, the hurts, the loneliness, everything…. and He loved her beyond measure! Watching God at work on Lizzy in that moment changed my perspective and my attitude. From then on, I experienced His love for her, His patience, His respect, and how much HE valued her!Through this situation, God allowed me to see that I had viewed some people as “old wrinkled brown bags”----- judging them on their outward appearance, their personality, their behavior, etc. without seeing the beautiful treasures inside them. I was reminded: “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart!” (I Samuel 16:7)“Every human being is uniquely invaluable to God in a uniquely important way: He creates each of us as a never-to-be-duplicated human being with a Divinely pre-ordained purpose to fulfill.” (Richard Land, Decision magazine).May we all have new eyes to see each human being as the Heavenly Father sees them; may we have HIS heart of love for each person He brings into our lives, and may we value each one as HIS PRICELESS TREASURE!“Just one soul is worth more than the whole world.” Billy GrahamAs we reflect on the recent Easter season, I am reminded of what I once heard: “If there had been only one person on earth (you) Jesus would have gone to Calvary’s cross and died… just for YOU!” Yes, it’s true… because each soul is of priceless value, and the Father’s love for EACH soul knows no limit! You are of inestimable value to Him! In kindness, Ruth(Note: In the interest of privacy, Dolly and Lizzy are pseudonyms.)