for the least of these...
Christmas is upon us, and like me, I'm sure you're wondering how it got here so quickly. I think that exact same thought every single year. I bet you do, too! I also hope, like me, that you think Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year. The decorations are beautiful, the food is great, but one of the things I've really grown to like about this season is the kindness that comes with it. People are more generous this time of year. There is a lot of giving, a lot of sharing, and a lot of joy. It's certainly something we don't witness year round, but wouldn't it be nice if we did?
Now that we have a child, Aaron and I have had conversations about how we want to do Christmas in our home. Do we let our kids believe in Santa or an Elf of the Shelf? Do we spoil them with gifts or keep it simple? What traditions do we want to start? And how do we help our children understand that Christmas is really about celebrating the birth of Jesus? Yet above all of these questions we've been thinking through, God has been challenging my heart about Christmas. About giving. About being a light in a dark world not just a few weeks out of the year but year round. But to be quite honest, God has been challenging how I see giving, and not just to the people I love.
For as long as I can remember, I have put together shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. This is one of my favorite things to do during Christmas that really puts things into perspective for me. The most difficult part of this process is only buying enough to fill a shoe box. I always pray that God would use whatever is in those boxes to show each child how much He loves them because the boxes don't just arrive with materialistic gifts, they arrive with the gift of the gospel. And so each November I find myself perusing the aisles of the Dollar Tree looking for little trinkets and toys that children would enjoy.
As I packed the shoe boxes this year I thought about Annabeth. She doesn't know this yet, but she's not getting anything for Christmas this year from us because she has no concept of gifts. She'd be thrilled to rip apart tissue paper and chew on boxes, so we'll let her find enjoyment in destroying gift packaging. Anyway, I wondered how Annabeth would feel 10 years from now if, for Christmas, she received a shoe box with a pair of socks, soap, some hair clips, and a journal with markers. Would she be thrilled? Would she be thankful? Would she actually see that as a gift? But more than that, as a parent, would I ever spend just $15 on my child at Christmas buying her things she actually needs rather than wants?
God has challenged my gift giving. Not giving gifts to my family and friends but truly giving, especially to those I don't even know. As you know by now, I am a bargain shopper, but when it comes to friends and family that's not always the case. And yet I walk by a Christmas tree in a department store that is full of gift tags for foster children or senior citizens, and while generosity is there, it's minimized. Sure, I'll gladly buy a pair of socks or a nightgown for the elderly woman in a nursing home, but would it be the same quality of socks or nightgown I'd buy for my own grandmother? And I'm more than happy to purchase a toy or a pair of pajamas for a child in foster care, but would it be the same kind of toy or brand of pajamas I'd buy for my own child?
"I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these... you did for me." (Matthew 25:40) Whatever you did for them, you did for Him. And while I can get wrapped up in feeling good that I did something, I'm convicted that I did the least for the least of these. I did the least for God. I didn't do the most or best. My generosity was capped. I didn't sacrifice or give in abundance. I gave, but I gave a minimum. The least still have the least because more went to ones who already have too much. Who have more than they will ever need.
What if we gave like God gave? What if we didn't just give the minimum but we gave in excess? What if we gave more than what was deserved? If we gave to those we don't know just as we give to those we love? Isn't that the true spirit of Christmas, after all? God set the standard when it comes to gift giving. When he wrapped his one and only son in flesh and sent him to be born in a stable in Bethlehem, He outdid himself. He gave more than we could ever ask for. More than we could ever need and it was all because of love. His love. His generosity. His abundance. He gave to the least, to you and to me, and I figure the least we can do is give in the same way that we have received.
Now that we have a child, Aaron and I have had conversations about how we want to do Christmas in our home. Do we let our kids believe in Santa or an Elf of the Shelf? Do we spoil them with gifts or keep it simple? What traditions do we want to start? And how do we help our children understand that Christmas is really about celebrating the birth of Jesus? Yet above all of these questions we've been thinking through, God has been challenging my heart about Christmas. About giving. About being a light in a dark world not just a few weeks out of the year but year round. But to be quite honest, God has been challenging how I see giving, and not just to the people I love.
For as long as I can remember, I have put together shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. This is one of my favorite things to do during Christmas that really puts things into perspective for me. The most difficult part of this process is only buying enough to fill a shoe box. I always pray that God would use whatever is in those boxes to show each child how much He loves them because the boxes don't just arrive with materialistic gifts, they arrive with the gift of the gospel. And so each November I find myself perusing the aisles of the Dollar Tree looking for little trinkets and toys that children would enjoy.
As I packed the shoe boxes this year I thought about Annabeth. She doesn't know this yet, but she's not getting anything for Christmas this year from us because she has no concept of gifts. She'd be thrilled to rip apart tissue paper and chew on boxes, so we'll let her find enjoyment in destroying gift packaging. Anyway, I wondered how Annabeth would feel 10 years from now if, for Christmas, she received a shoe box with a pair of socks, soap, some hair clips, and a journal with markers. Would she be thrilled? Would she be thankful? Would she actually see that as a gift? But more than that, as a parent, would I ever spend just $15 on my child at Christmas buying her things she actually needs rather than wants?
God has challenged my gift giving. Not giving gifts to my family and friends but truly giving, especially to those I don't even know. As you know by now, I am a bargain shopper, but when it comes to friends and family that's not always the case. And yet I walk by a Christmas tree in a department store that is full of gift tags for foster children or senior citizens, and while generosity is there, it's minimized. Sure, I'll gladly buy a pair of socks or a nightgown for the elderly woman in a nursing home, but would it be the same quality of socks or nightgown I'd buy for my own grandmother? And I'm more than happy to purchase a toy or a pair of pajamas for a child in foster care, but would it be the same kind of toy or brand of pajamas I'd buy for my own child?
"I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these... you did for me." (Matthew 25:40) Whatever you did for them, you did for Him. And while I can get wrapped up in feeling good that I did something, I'm convicted that I did the least for the least of these. I did the least for God. I didn't do the most or best. My generosity was capped. I didn't sacrifice or give in abundance. I gave, but I gave a minimum. The least still have the least because more went to ones who already have too much. Who have more than they will ever need.
What if we gave like God gave? What if we didn't just give the minimum but we gave in excess? What if we gave more than what was deserved? If we gave to those we don't know just as we give to those we love? Isn't that the true spirit of Christmas, after all? God set the standard when it comes to gift giving. When he wrapped his one and only son in flesh and sent him to be born in a stable in Bethlehem, He outdid himself. He gave more than we could ever ask for. More than we could ever need and it was all because of love. His love. His generosity. His abundance. He gave to the least, to you and to me, and I figure the least we can do is give in the same way that we have received.
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