Yes, We've Got Milk

W

hen I was a little boy, I loved to play with boxes.  Sometimes daddy would let us have some of the big cardboard boxes that were destined for the trash dump.  We’d be so excited at the prospects of what those large boxes would become.  The other kids from the neighborhood would come over and we would build houses, forts, ships, and secret hideouts complete with a secret escape door in the back.  This usually meant the entire back end of the box was out but we pretended it was a well fortified and impenetrable wall through which only we could escape.

There were also other boxes I had in my room.  There were shoe boxes filled with all kinds of “important” stuff.  My mom didn’t have the same understanding of important as I did and occasionally she made me clean out those boxes and throw them away.  I did exactly as she instructed and then I started over with a new box.  I had them tucked away under my bed, piled in the bottom of my closet, and stuffed in the drawers of our desk.  There were things like string, important buttons, erasers with no pencils attached, coins, gum wrappers, and the ever-present collection of rubber bands.

There was one other box that played a very important role in my childhood.  This was a very special box and it had a prominent place at our house.  The box was made of metal and it sat on our front porch.  Most of the time this box stood empty and we paid little attention to it.  Once a week, however, something magical happened to that box.  My mom would step out onto the porch, open the box, put her hand inside, and draw out a carton of milk!  It was amazing!  I can still remember walking to that box, pulling the lid back, and looking inside at the tall, cold carton of fresh milk.

The milkman always came on the same day of the week and he delivered milk in all kinds of weather.  Even when we weren’t home, even if no one greeted him at the porch, and if no one was watching, the milk man delivered his precious cargo right on schedule.  I can still hear my mother asking me to check and see if the milk man had come.  I would dash to the front porch, tear open the box, pull out the milk carton, and triumphantly announce as I entered the house, “Yes, we’ve got milk!”

As I think back on our milkman and the days of my childhood one thought comes to mind—faithfulness!  We could always count on the milkman to deliver milk when we needed it.  We never worried he would miss his rounds and we never went without fresh milk.  1 Samuel 26:23 reminds us of the importance God places on our faithfulness.  “The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness.”

In this passage, David is speaking to King Saul.  Saul has been pursuing David with the intention of killing him.  On at least two occasions, David has the opportunity to take Saul’s life but refuses to because Saul is the Lord’s anointed king.  David remains faithful to God by revering and respecting God’s chosen leader.  David does this with the full knowledge that God has selected him to be king after Saul.

This is the very picture of faithfulness.  We are to be about the work God has called us to and we are to honor his word and obey his commands even when the circumstances of life indicate everything is against us.  David had been anointed king and he found himself running for his life, living in caves, and hiding in the wilderness.  Although circumstances seemed to be contrary to God’s promises, David continued to believe the Lord and to obey and honor his word.

God is faithful to us at all times.  He always keeps his promises to us and he never abandons us to fend for ourselves.  But God also wants us to be faithful to him.  That is the essence of this passage from 1 Samuel.  God will reward us according to our faithfulness to him.  If we cling to him, if we obey him, if we place our trust in him, and if we walk with him daily, we will reap the rewards of a deep and abiding relationship with him.

One last thought about that milk box.  The milkman was faithful to deliver the milk each week. However, if we weren’t faithful in removing it from the box, we had no one to blame for spoiled milk but ourselves!  God has more than enough milk for his children.  Are you visiting his milk box on a regular basis?