I finally got my book manuscript sent away so I can now focus on my my next project, collecting information for our family memoirs. As each one of our six children made their appearance, they brought with them their own personalities. I received great pleasure seeing them daily making new discoveries and developing their own interests. When Timothy was three years old, and enjoying his food, as children do, he thought it special to be the one who got to scrap the last crumbs of whatever we were having for our meals. As someone would pass him the empty container, he would sing out, “I got alla it! I got alla it.”
One day I was setting the dinner table for a houseful of company, while Timmy stood beside me happily watching the food appear on the table. As I lifted an oversized casserole dish from the oven and carried it to the table, he bounced along beside me, clapping his hands and singing, “I get alla it! I get alla it!”
“Oh Timmy, you are such a selfish boy. You always want everything,” a guest rebuked him. “If you want to eat all that meat loaf what do you think the rest of us are going to eat?”
I explained that when Timmy says he wants all of something, what he really means is that he wants to be the one to get to scrape the serving dish. Everyone is welcome to as much meatloaf as they can eat as long as they let him have the last dregs.
As I was adding this anecdote to my collection of memories I thought of how this is a parable of how many people seem to view God’s intention when He calls us to a full surrender to Him.
When Jesus said to His followers, “Take up your cross and follow Me,” He really meant just that. Yet we have a tendency to keep on chasing worthless pursuits, sharing their lives and resources with the world and the devil, hoping that when their lives are spent and the candle is about to go out, we can call on God and He will gratefully scrape up the dregs and delightfully announce, “I got alla it! I got alla it!”
Oh, how much we miss when we fail to recognize that only as we give our all to Him, can we experience that abundant life that He died to provide for us. Jesus said, “I am come that ye might have life and have it more abundantly.”
I could just see your little Timmy shouting his joy at scraping the serving dishes. Sometimes those are the tastiest morsels.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do see where you were going with your story, I also got a glimpse of it from a different angle:
When the enemy thinks he's got that old reprobate for his own hellish kingdom, at the last moment that old fellow gives his life to Jesus, and Jesus yells out with glee, "I got alla it" and steals the last morsel right out from under the enemy's nose.
PS..... Martha, after reading your posting, guess what I'm saying to myself these days, "I get alla it!" (grin)
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