I read something last night before bed that kept me up longer than I wanted to be up. I’m rereading parts of “The Shattered Lantern” by Ronald Rolheiser. He said…

The original sin of Adam and Eve, the prototype of all sin, is presented as a failure to be receptive and grateful.

Just think about it for a second. God creates Adam and Eve and places them in the garden where they are surrounded by unmistakable beauty and all the goodness of life. They are experiencing the fullness of life, the way it was intended to be and are promised it will continue…under one condition. Just don’t eat the fruit of a certain tree.

However, we all know they would eventually fail to receive life as a gift and instead try to seize it as if it were owed to them.

When I think of my own life and the sin that often creeps in, it usually begins with my failure to see life as a gift.

My lust.
My pride.
My anger.
My lack of forgiveness.

It’s all the overflow of a heart which begins to believe that something is “owed” to me.

I’m wondering how different today would be for each one of us if we seek to go through this day today viewing our life, our circumstances, our relationships and yes, even our hardships and challenges as gifts. As opportunities to be the men or women God has created us to be.

Today I seek to be receptive and grateful.