Blessings are everywhere.
Our problem is that we don’t see them.
Take my boys.
My kids receive a lot of gifts from friends.
When I say a lot, I mean A LOT.
Some years ago, I remember entering their bedroom. (Our kids still sleep in our bedroom. So their bedroom doesn’t even have beds. Their bedroom is a bodega of toys.)
My little boy was seated on the floor in the middle of his room, surrounded by an ocean of toys. Cars. Robots. Gizmos.
And with a glum face, he said, “Daddy, I’m bored.”
I usually don’t react. I’m a very calm person. If a volcano erupts in front of me, I’ll just say to my wife, “Sweetheart, may I make a small suggestion? Perhaps it’s best that we walk away…”
But at that instance, I reacted.
I said, “Whaaaat?”
I couldn’t believe my ears.
Yet that is human nature. The blessings of God are all around us and we don’t see them. Much less take them, use them, and maximize them.
Here’s the truth: There is no shortage of blessings. There is only a shortage of being thankful for our blessings.
I believe you’re surrounded by an ocean of blessings.
Three of those blessings are a robe, a ring, and a pair of sandals.
Visit This Story Again
Remember the story of the Prodigal son in the Bible? About the “jerk” of a son who asked for his inheritance and wasted it all in reckless living?
It should really be called the story of the Prodigal Father. Because “Prodigal” means “extravagant”. Sure, the son spent everything he had. But that was just money.
The Father was extravagant in his love.
But I’m going ahead of the story…
Have You Hit Rock Bottom?
The Bible says that when his money ran out, he worked as a care-taker of pigs. He was so hungry, he was willing to eat the food given to the pigs. The Bible says…
Then a severe famine spread over that country, and he was left without a thing.
So he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him out to his farm to take care of the pigs. He wished he could fill himself with the bean pods the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything to eat.
The worst thing you can do to a Jew was to make him work with pigs. Jews don’t eat pigs. They considered pigs unclean. Filthy. Dirty. Yet he was taking care of them. Not only that, he was willing to eat the food given to the pigs! Talk about hitting rock bottom. You can’t get any lower than that.
Sometimes, God allows us to hit rock bottom. Sometimes, God allows us to lose our wealth. Our friends. Our health. Our dignity. So that we hit rock bottom.
Why? Because God knows that rock bottom is the birthplace of victory. Rock Bottom is the starting point of success. Rock bottom is the genesis of revelation.
I love saying this: Look at the very successful people in the world, and you realize that many of them went through massive amounts of pain. If you look at their history, many of them passed by this popular place called Rock Bottom.
And if you’re somewhere in this place called Rock Bottom, I want you to have hope. Don’t you dare give up. You’re in the doorway of something new in your life.
The story continues…
At last he came to his senses and said, ‘All my father’s hired workers have more than they can eat, and here I am about to starve! I will get up and go to my father and say, Father, I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired workers.’ So he got up and started back to his father.
We must be clear on one thing: Some people think that this young guy is going back to his father because he’s sorry. Perhaps. But I believe more paramount than feeling sorry was the fact that he was feeling hungry.
But here’s what I realized. God doesn’t mind if you go to him because you’re sorry or you’re hungry. As long as you go back to Him.
A lot of people think that this is a story of the power of repentance. No, it’s not. This is a story of the power of restoration.
The shocking truth? Repentance doesn’t cause restoration. Restoration causes repentance.
For years, you’ve been taught differently. You’ve been taught that when you repent, you’re forgiven.
That’s not how God operates.
The opposite is true: You’re forgiven first. And that forgiveness moves you to repent.
This is the same powerful message in the story of the adulterous woman caught in adultery. Or the story of the Samaritan Woman with five husbands. Or the story of Zacheus on top of the Sycamore Tree.
“He was still a long way from home when his father saw him; his heart was filled with pity, and he ran, threw his arms round his son, and kissed him.”
We imagine God to be sitting on the throne. We imagine a stationary God. But this revolutionary story of Jesus gives us a picture of a God who runs towards us. A God who chases after you.
“‘Father,’ the son said, ‘I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son.’”
What’s the message of this story?
The kiss came before the confession. The affection came before the apology.
God is good to us even before we do anything good.
“But the father called his servants. ‘Hurry!’ he said. ‘Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. Then go and get the prize calf and kill it, and let us celebrate with a feast!”
If God Is This Good, Why Be Good?
People ask me the question a lot: “If God is this good, why be good?” Isn’t there justice? Doesn’t God punish the sin?
This is actually the question of the elder son in the story.
He was asking his father, “Where is your sense of justice? Where is your sense of fairness? When you don’t punish the bad boy, you’re inadvertently punishing the good boy! Me!”
Let me answer that question with a story.
One day, there was a little man in a bar.
And he looked terribly depressed.
And he was forever gazing on the drink in front of him. That was when a guy the size of bear, a huge truck-driver, with tattoos all over his body, came up to him, grabbed his drink, and gulped it down.
And the little man began to cry.
And the giant man said, “Hey, you don’t have to cry. I’m just having some fun with you.”
The little man said, “Nothing is working in my life. This morning, when I went to work, my boss fired me. When I left the office to go to my car, I discovered that thieves stole my car. When I finally arrived home, my wife told me she was divorcing me and taking the kids with her. So I came here and decided to kill myself. I put poison in my glass. And then you show up and drink it!”
My point?
Sin doesn’t need punishment.
When the large man “sinned” against the little man by taking away his drink, the little man didn’t have to punish him. Because the punishment is in the drink itself.
In other words?
Sin is its own punishment.
The prodigal son who wasted his life on loose living was punished already. How? By being away from his father.
But when he returned, the father gave three gifts to his son:
1. Robe of Righteousness
2. Ring of Royalty
3. Sandals of Sonship
Each is a special gift that God gives to you.
Robe of Righteousness
The father commanded his servants, “Bring the best robe and put it on him.”
And what is the best robe in the house?
Of course, it was the father’s robe.
He was not giving a spare robe. He was giving His own robe to his son.
Picture this: The son saying, “No Father, your robe doesn’t fit me. I’m a sinner. I’m unclean. I smell of pigs. I don’t deserve this…” But the best robe is still placed over his shoulders.
I believe the Robe of Righteousness is a Mold.
I used to make candles with my own hands. I’d melt wax in a can and pour it onto the mold. And the wax will take the shape of the mold. If the mold was round, the wax will become round. If the mold was square, the wax will become square.
Friend, God has given you the robe of his righteousness.
You don’t fit in it…yet.
God knows you’re not perfect yet.
God knows you’re not righteous yet.
God knows you’ve got weaknesses yet.
God knows!
But He places His robe of righteousness around you as a Mold. To tell you, “One day, you will fit this robe. One day, you will be perfect as I am perfect. One day, you will be as holy as I am holy. But now that you’re not yet, wear my robe of righteousness.”
God has given you the robe of his righteousness. The Bible says, For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness (Isaiah 61:10).
We’re not a church of saints.
We’re a church of sinners, all wearing His robe of righteousness.
We hold no pretensions that we’re holier than the people outside this building.
We’re here not because we’re holier. We’re here because we have received His mercy.
If you hear someone say, “The church is full of fakes. They’re all hypocrites.” Tell them, “Oh yes! The church is filled with robbers, adulterers, pornographers…”
We’re all fakes. We’re just wearing the robe of righteousness. But deep within, we’re filthy and frail and foolish.
And that’s why we’re here in church.
Because we need to be here.
In my little community, Light of Jesus, we open our weekly gatherings (called Feast) to everyone. Many times at these Feasts, I love saying, “Invite everyone to the Feast. Prostitutes. Adulterers. Gamblers. Corrupt government officials. Because the Church is a place for sinners.” (We also describe the Feast as “the happiest place on earth.” To know our schedules and venues, email Annie at feastsecretariat@yahoo.com or call 7259999 for more information.)
2. Ring of Royalty
The ring is a symbol of authority. Even today, we kiss the ring of a Bishop because it’s a sign of his authority.
Rings were symbols of power.
God gives you the ring of royalty.
In other words, He gives you power.
What power you say? The power to represent Him in the world. You’re an ambassador of God. An ambassador is the representative of the King.
You are God’s face in the world.
You are God’s smile to the nations.
You are God’s touch to this generation.
Picture this: When the son is walking in the marketplace, the first reaction of neighbors and relatives will be to scorn him. To spit on his face. Because they know the family’s story so well. But then they see something familiar.
They see his father’s robe on him.
And they see a ring on his finger.
And they realize that the father has accepted him again. And the respect they gave the father, they will now give the son.
The Bible says, But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8)
3. Sandals of Sonship
In the Jewish home of ancient times, the only ones who can wear sandals in the house are the owners of the house. Slaves wore nothing. When the father gave sandals to his returning son, he was saying, “You’re not a slave. You’re my son.”
Because you’re a child of God, He wants you to enjoy the blessings of a child of God.
The blessings are all there, available to you.
I love telling this story of my son.
Two years ago, my son attended a 2-day Internet Marketing Workshop. He was 8 years old.
Early on the second day, I was in the dining room, writing on the computer. My son, who was right behind me, said, “Daddy, I need P20. The toilets in the workshop charge P20.”
I turned around and said, “Sure…”
But when I did that, I saw that he already had taken my wallet from the kitchen counter (I left it there), picked out P50, and was stuffing it in his wallet.
My son taught me something profound. Even before I said “Sure,” he already assumed that I was going to fill his need. Because he was my son.
And I believe that God has left a mountain of blessings on the kitchen table for you. Because we don’t believe that they’re there, we don’t see them. Let me say it again (in a different way): There is no shortage of blessings, there is only a shortage of seeing those blessings right in front of us.
The second lesson that my son taught me?
I asked him, “Son, you said P20. Why did you get P50?”
He said, “My cousin Nicole is with me. She goes to the toilet too.” Amazing.
When you get blessings from God, you just don’t get for yourself. You get for others too. Because you’re not an only child. You’ve got siblings in the family of God.
So be the best you can ever become. Grow. Develop. Expand. And earn as much as you can! Because you’re not doing this for yourself only. You’re doing it to share.
When you return to God, He restores you.
Receive today the Robe of Righteousness, the Ring of Royalty, and the Sandals of Sonship.
God’s love will make all things new!
May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez
PS. Do you want to change your financial life in 2011? Start your own business. This is one of most important paths to financial blessings. On January 8 and 15 (Saturdays), we’re giving a TrulyRich Entrepreneur Workshop for the very first time. There are only 49 seats available. Last week, I invited my TrulyRichClub members (they always get the first crack). So the workshop is almost full now. But there are a few seats left. If you’re interested to join us for the TrulyRich Entrepreneur Workshop and change your financial life, click the link below:
