Greetings brethren and happy Sabbath!

What we take for granted

It is easy to take things for granted. In fact, there's probably a fair portion of the things we own that we take for granted until we can't find them.  They special screwdriver you need to take apart the vacuum, your glasses that you seem to constantly misplace, even the windshield wipers on your pastor's van (ask a certain deacon in Charlotte to tell you the story if you haven't heard it already...)

The point is, most of us have a bad habit of taking things for granted.

Getting a better grasp on value

One way to reduce our tendency to take things for granted is consider what their value is.  In 2 Kings 6, we read the story of the sons of the prophets who borrowed and (nearly) lost an axe head.  While they might not be valuable today, an axe head at that time was worth hundreds if not thousands of dollars.  As replacing it would have been required, the person who lost the axe head quickly realized what its value was. Fortunately, Elisha was there to help out.

Another way to think about how valuable thing are is do without then awhile. As mentioned above, if you're a glasses wearer, go without them for a few hours.  You'll realize how valuable they are!

The most valuable things

Of  course, up till now, we've talked about things that are replaceable - glasses, axe heads, windshield wipers, etc.  But some things are not replaceable and are thus far more value.  A couple of examples might be our health and loved ones.  Certainly, no price can be put on those things.

As hard as it might be to imagine though, there's something more valuable still - God's Holy Spirit.  Without it, all the things in this life, even our health and loved ones, would have limited value.  And of course, just like a pair of glasses that go missing, think where you'd be without it.

It's easy to take things for granted.  Let's make sure we stop and take time to appreciate all the blessings we have, from the ones we can easily replace, to the most valuable of all, God's Holy Spirit!