Gifts On Purpose

The Past's Story:

It was the night that children wait for all year long. It was a night of waiting and last minute preparations. The calm before the storm for most parents. It was Christmas Eve.   

I was eight years old and Santa was coming that night.  You can only imagine the barely contained excitement I felt as a little boy. The anticipation was almost too much as I waited for those few, excruciatingly long, short hours to pass so I could see what Santa left for me under the tree. My sleep-deprived parents would perhaps be a bit less enthusiastic as they would be awaken to the sounds of my pounding feet racing up the stairs.

That night my brother, sister and I helped mom bake the Christmas cookies.  This was one of my favorite parts as I always ate several of them as they would come out of the oven.  After all, if Santa eats a thousand cookies in one night, he can afford to share a few with me. In reality, I was a little boy who ran off of sugar and cookies were irresistible!

The hours ticked by and soon it was time for us to go to bed.  But, as we each went to our own rooms, my curious and inquisitive nature took hold of me. I distinctly remember that I wanted so desperately to see who truly brought me presents every December.  Was it really Santa?  Or could the rumors at school be true.....?

At the time, I wanted to know the truth more out of curiosity than anything else. Later, I would come to realize that knowing this truth allowed me show thankfulness to the right people.  

After waiting for what felt like an eternity but was, in reality, thirty minutes, I snuck up the stairs with a quietness that would rival any mouse. I slowly peeped my eyes around the corner so that I could glean a glimpse into the family room.   

It was true!  What did I see before but my own parents?! I saw mom and dad shuffling with the gifts and strategically positioning them for us to open in the morning.

One of life’s greatest mysteries was solved that Christmas Eve night.  I went to bed that evening, satisfied with my amateur espionage skills. When I woke up a few hours later, I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that my thankfulness was not to be directed to an unknown stranger but to my parents.

Today's Application:

The reason why I tell this story is because every gift, no matter how big or how small, comes from someone.  My point is that if we understand Who is giving us the gift, then we will not only have more of an appreciation for the gift, but also an abundance of praise and thanksgiving for the One who rightly deserves it — the Giver.

In the story above, was my belief in Santa obliterated? Yes. Was I distraught and emotionally scarred for the rest of my life because I found out who really gave me these presents?  Not at all! You see, I realized that what I was receiving under the tree wasn’t just some random toy from a stranger I didn't know dressed in a red suit. Rather, these gifts were picked out specifically for me by the two people who loved me the most in this world — my mom and dad.   

As I begin to think about these things, I now understand that my parents were investing their resources into mine in order to find out the desires of my heart and what it was that I longed for as a child.  I now know that my gifts were not from a stranger who didn't know me, but intentionally given to me in love by those who loved me.

Knowing our spiritual gifts is an exciting thing. But when we take our eyes and place them on the One who gave us those gifts, we become filled with love and praise toward Him. What we find as we continue to mature is that God, out of His infinite love for you and I, has purposefully made us to be exactly who we are in Him. He knows the desires of our hearts, our passions, and our longings.  He knows what makes us laugh uncontrollably to the point that milk is shooting out of our nose.  He understands us better than we even do ourselves and everyday He is intentionally investing in our lives to bring us closer to Himself and to make us more like His Son.  He specifically and purposefully gave us our gifts in order that we may glorify Him!

Our gifts are not random. They have been given to us by the one who loves us more than any other person — the Lord Jesus.