It was the headline on every channel and in every newspaper. Amazing how a blue Chanel bag can reveal the character of a person.
While on the train platform at Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, a bag caught his eye. In it, 100 $100 bills. Richard Taverna took his find to the local police station.
“It’s not mine. Whoever has lost this $10,000 is probably going through a lot of distress.”
A NYPD deputy inspector was in disbelief, but was proud of Taverna for doing the right thing. Newscasters and journalists alike jumped on the story. The 63-year-old retiree? He was surprised by all the attention his good deed brought him.
The police identified the rightful owner. The blue Chanel bag and its contents belonged to a woman named Aya.
“I didn’t expect to get this back. It is money for my children’s Christmas gifts.”
There was no overt appreciation for Richard Taverna’s upright heart, no embrace, no jumping for joy. Aya, a Kazakh woman of wealth and privilege, offered her reward, her thanks.
What person in their right mind spends $10,000 on children’s gifts for Christmas? Moreover, just a thank you?
My Sweet Al said, “The man’s heart was written on by God before the incident. He gave it back because it was the right thing to do. He didn’t need a reward from the woman. God rewarded him by allowing the whole world to see his good deed on national television.”
To be fair, it makes you wonder what the world saw of Aya’s heart.
We picked up our discussion the following morning. We talked about the words God writes on our hearts, like black ink markings on white paper. Our lives, God’s expression in indelible ink.
Jonathan Cahn writes, “When the Word is sent into the world, it must have a context, it must have a parchment, a paper, a voice, some medium to bear and manifest it to the world.”
Our lives are that medium which shows a story marked by God. He uses everything we are, and even the environment around us to tell His story. And sometimes, He even uses a blue Chanel purse to point to the story He has written.
1 Peter 2:21 says, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”
In Greek, the word “example” refers to an underwriting or undersigning, in particular, a writing example. It is the only place in the Bible where that word literally means, the teacher covers the hand of the student and directs the pencil.
Final brushstroke: How many times do we look to receive a nominal reward or turn up our nose at a “thank you”? Why is it so difficult for us to accept that our actions can lead us to something of far greater value? Ever stop to think about the number of ways by where we can bless others? Next time, perhaps we will stop and thank God for writing that action into existence by placing it on our heart.
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