We often call Christmas
the “season of giving”. If you are like me, most of that giving is in material
things. Toys for little ones, maybe nice clothes for older ones… maybe
something really expensive for those precious ones. And of course, there is always
the receiving of these fine gifts from others who have entered into the “season
of giving”. Most everyone really likes being on the receiving end of a gift.
Now this article is
not about to condemn such activities. In fact, I think it is really nice that
we have a chance to give gifts to those we love and care about. And, it’s
really nice to be on the receiving end too! At the same time, it is called the
“season of giving” for a much different reason. Perhaps this story will help
shed a little light.
Wealth More Precious than Jewels (Author unknown)
A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found
a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was
hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry
traveler saw the precious stone and wanted it, so the woman gave it to him. She
did so without hesitation. The traveler left rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew
the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime.
A few days later, he came back to return the stone to
the wise woman. “I’ve been thinking,” he said. “I know how valuable this stone
is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more
precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me this
stone.”
Even though this
traveler had gotten hold of a precious stone that was worth a fortune, he
realized that he was missing out on something even more valuable. The Giver of
the gift had something of much greater worth than that stone. The traveler came
back desiring that greater treasure.
We can be a lot
like that traveler as we go through life. We may suddenly find ourselves in a
bad situation. It could be serious, as in a health problem or divorce or death
of a loved one. It could be less serious, as in feeling depressed or stressed
out or in need of some material thing. Next thing we know, we find ourselves
asking God for help. I imagine every one of us can recount a time when God
intervened to bring us that gift we asked for.
Many of us have
gone on our merry way after receiving His gift of help, forgetting that just
maybe there was something far greater behind that gift. Is it possible that the
One, who could give us that gift of help we needed, might actually have something
more valuable to give us? Indeed, the real message of Christmas is not just
that we have a God who is able to heal our broken health, or to bring comfort
in the midst of great grief, or to bring peace of mind when our world is
stressed out beyond belief. The message of Christmas is far deeper and greater
for those who would bring their gift of life back to God and seek the more
precious gift.
For those who would
like to look further into that gift of Christmas, here’s some great reading
from the Giver of Life Himself:
God’s richest
blessings to each of you this Christmas season!
By Fr. Stephen Powley
Source: https://upwordglance.com/2016/12/14/could-you-give-back-your-best-gift/
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