Gift or Giver
By Peggy Kleckner
“He who did not
spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all-how will He not also, along with
Him, graciously give us all things?”
Romans
8:32 (NIV)
The
Christmas season always seems to bring reflection of previous Christmas
seasons. I found myself smiling the other day as I recalled one particular gift
opening at a family gathering.
Two
of our sons were in their teens and each had received a gift from their aunt
and uncle. One opened the gift and found a tootsie roll bank. Out of obligation
and good manners, he graciously thanked them for the gift and laid it aside.
The other son opened his gift, found a tootsie roll bank and knowing the
character of this aunt and uncle proceeded to open the bank, dump out the candy
and found in the midst a gift card… the true gift. He found the treasure
hidden. He knew to look because he knew who had given him the gift.
Though
the second son at first offered to take the bank from his brother, he did
eventually tell him to look past the appearance of the gift and dump out its
contents!
How
did one know to look beyond what he saw on the outside? He simply refused to
believe that the giver would give so little because in the past they had given
much more. He wasn’t going to believe that there wasn’t more until he poured it
all out and searched it all completely.
Sometimes
life looks difficult and my way seems strewn with hardship or pain, as if
nothing good could possibly be in it. In those times, I try and remember this
lesson. I am willing to search it for the good that the Giver of all good gifts
has tucked away in it. I look for the hidden treasure because I have come to
know and trust God’s character.
Too
often, we settle for so much less because we won’t look past what we see with
our physical eyes. We won’t believe bigger and dig deeper. We trust our eyes
and not His heart.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Where are you settling for less than all He wants
to give you because you won’t go back and dump out the contents of your life
and look for the true gift?
2. Who do you need to tell about the hidden treasure
you have already found?
FURTHER READING:
Peggy is a wife and
mother of four adult children - - two sons and two stepsons, and is an active
encourager at Oakwood Church in Delafield.
