Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. (James 1:17, N.K.J.V.)

In 1911, the famous Mona Lisa painting was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris and remained missing for the next two years. Interestingly, more people came to the museum to see the blank space than had come to view the masterpiece itself in the previous twelve years. What does that teach us about human nature? If nothing else, it teaches us that we take masterpieces for granted until they are gone.

Now let’s spiritually apply this illustration to our lives. God faithfully hangs countless masterpieces upon the walls of our lives, only to have us walk past them each day without appreciating them for the blessings they are. But the moment we realize that one is gone, we finally begin to understand just how wonderful it was and we start staring at the vacant spot, reminiscing about the happiness the blessing used to bring us.

I, for one, constantly need to be reminded to focus on the good in my life rather than the bad. Stating it simply, I need to spend more time appreciating all the Mona Lisas that God has granted me. Everything about my life can’t be categorized as a “good gift” or a “perfect gift,” but I’ve certainly got abundance enough of such gifts to know that God the Father (the Father of lights) has been exceptionally good to me.

Getting back to my opening illustration, my life is a figurative Louvre with its walls lined with masterpiece after masterpiece. Therefore, if I don’t give each one its proper appreciation, that says a lot more about me than it does the blessing. It means the blessing is doing its job of adding value to my life but I’m not doing my job of appreciating that value. Frankly, that makes me an ingrate, and I doubt that God is in much of hurry to pour out more blessings upon someone who doesn’t appreciate the ones he already has.