April 26 - Matthew 7:9-12

April 26 - Matthew 7:9-12

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

When I got into high school, I remember sitting around Christmas eve with my family and talking about gifts we had received as children. I had the hardest time remembering any of the specific gifts, but I remembered the feelings of excitement.

Mom loved Christmas, but because Dad didn't make a lot of money, she had to work quite a bit harder to make them fun for us. Just after Thanksgiving, one of the extra bedrooms upstairs would turn into a workshop for her.  I have an image of the three of us little kids sitting in the doorway, leaned up against the closed door, listening to her sew away.  We talked to her through the door, while she kept telling us to go play.  We just knew she was whipping up amazing creations in there and they would be wrapped and placed under the tree by Christmas morning.

Every year she made sure that each of us had the same number of gifts and would let us pull out the gifts and count them.  The giving was the most important part of that holiday for her.  She had created extraordinary gifts for us and she couldn't wait for us to open them and enjoy them.  As she made each gift, she thought about us, about how we would rip the paper off and smile or squeal or laugh and then hug the gift close as our own little minds considered how much fun it would be to play with it.

Those gifts meant as much to Mom as they did to us. She didn't have much money to work with, but she ensured that Christmas was always special.  She knew how to give good gifts.  When I consider the verses for today and Mom’s love of gift-giving, I am reminded of how much God loves us and the joy He must have in giving good gifts to us, too.