If you’re not a parent and never raised little children this image might not resonate with you. But I remember as a young new parent with twin children trying to teach my boys to eat. Like every child I’ve ever encountered they had a tendency to take their food and throw some of it on the floor. Then they’d cry because they were hungry and didn’t have enough to eat. When dealing with children, we kind of laugh it off as if it’s no big deal, but what if an older person were to do that? I can’t imagine what would happen if I would have done that at 13 at the supper table with my parents!

The imagery of a toddler throwing their food on the floor is for me a reminder of how we tend to react to God’s goodness. The plate is full of good foods that we love, yet we so easily throw it on the floor. Unlike the toddlers plate, the food we get from God is always good for us and always tastes better than anything we could imagine. Yet we still waste it and cast it on the ground.

As a parent with my children I would always clean the mess and replace what they threw on the floor. Sometimes this would turn into a game where we would throw and clean up and throw and clean up. Eventually I would grow weary of the mess they were making and we would remove them from their highchairs and go do something else.

I’m sure that’s not how God acts toward us when we throw his goodness on the ground. Unlike our pantries that have a limited supply, God always has enough. He not only has merely enough. He has an abundance. The more we throw away. The more he lavishes on us. Now don’t hear something that’s not here. This is no excuse to go on throwing His goodness around so that we can get even more. Paul warns against this as well when he says Should I go on sinning so that grace may abound? By no means!

It’s ridiculous to think that throwing away good things will lead to receiving better things. Yet that’s seemingly what we do. We cast off God’s grace and clothe ourselves with judgement. We drop the sweetness of his forgiveness and eat the bitter taste of envy and jealousy.

Remember there’s nothing you can do to remove yourself from God’s love. He’ll always pursue. He’ll always love. He sent his son to die for all of humanity knowing that not all of humanity will believe. He knew we’d throw him on the ground, yet he still came and gave us his best.

We can learn a great deal from the plate of a toddler. It’s kind of interesting where we can find a lesson rich in truth.

What good thing from God have you thrown away? What did he bring into your life instead? How can you return that in thanks to him today?