Yesterday I had an interesting conversation with my kids about Christmas that reminded me of my relationship with God. Jake turns 4 on December 14th and he received a coupon from someone for a free cheeseburger from McDonald's. He relished getting a card addressed to "Jacob Stoner" in the mail, and when he saw the cheeseburger coupon, well that just sweetened the deal. But after a few moments he got quiet and said, "dad, do you like cheeseburgers?" I had no idea where he was going so I just took the question at face value and said, "yes, they're great." Then he gave held up his card and said, "you can have my cheeseburger coupon."
I melted inside, thanked him profusely and then told him that I thought he should keep it and enjoy it himself. He insisted I take the card and happily turned it over to me. I didn't want to refuse him so I took it and thanked him again. Later that night as I drove Katie and Jake home from their Christmas party (thanks, Pastor Tina:) Katie listened to Jake explain what he had done. Katie wasn't buying.
"Jake, dad has enough money to buy his own cheeseburger," she protested. He simply responded, "I want to give it to him because kids can give their stuff too so that moms and dads can have a nice Christmas." Katie was exactly right. I have enough to buy a cheeseburger at McDonald's. And yet Jake was so right, too. The fact that I had enough to buy one didn't lessen his joy in giving it or my joy in receiving it. And then I thought about my relationship with God and what I can give him this Christmas. My best gift is nothing more than a cheeseburger coupon to God, and yet the joy I think he finds in it is far beyond its actual value. It's my heart of love that makes the gift so precious, that makes him savor the memory of receiving it. This Christmas I want to give God a gift that will let him know how much I love him, even if it's something he can afford buy a million times over.
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2 comments:
An unselfish child is a lovely gift to you, cheeseburgers and all.
What I find interesting is that this very weekend while you were composing your blog, halfway across the country, out of the blue I conceived an idea for a Christmas story called 'A Cheeseburger for Christmas'. The story is abut a selfish young boy who, through a series of trials during the month of December, learns of the miracle of Christ and his love and generosity when he receives, of all things, a cheeseburger for Christmas.
I googled the name to see if the title had been taken and I came across your blog.
The power and mystery of the Lord never ceases to amaze me!
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