Approach god with a basket of love, not a long wish list

One day, an old woman visited US president Abraham Lincoln. She took along with her a covered basket. “My good woman, what is in this basket?” he asked her. He had expected her to come with a problem. She said: “Dear Mr President, I heard that you liked cookies and I came here to bring you this basket.”

Teary-eyed, he said, “Your thoughtful and unselfish deed greatly moves me. Thousands of people have come to my office since I became president, but you are the first one to come asking no favour for yourself or for somebody else.”

This account can be reflected on our relationship with god. If we were to sit in a place of worship, we would find that most people turn to god when they want a favour, when they are in trouble and need help, when they have physical ailments, financial problems, relationship difficulties, or so.

Very few sit there to show their appreciation and love to god without asking for a favour.

When god solves one of our problems, we’re still left with many more problems. Soon, we’re preoccupied with the new problem that has crept up, often forgetting to thank him for addressing the earlier one.

What we do not realise is that god is a loving parent, who provides for even when we do not ask him for help. We should approach him with an open heart filled with love. We should ask god for nothing but his presence in our lives. If we come to god with a basket of love, we will receive his grace in abundance.