Did you forget to open a gift this Christmas?
I have been dwelling on the good gifts passage in Matthew for the last few days. Now that I am the dad giving my kids good gifts its given me fresh appreciation of this text.
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! Mat 7:11
Over 2 and a half years I have watched the same pattern play out with my son.
As I watch our son grow and develop, I am eager to expose him to things I know he will enjoy, now that he is able to: crawl, walk, ride, balance, swim... As he grows, I want him to experience new things. Things I know he will enjoy. Things that will be good for him.
However — he doesn’t always know they are good. In fact, the pattern I have had to endure again and again, is:
- Jack shows development
- Dad spends time and money either building or buying new toy/experience which he knows Jack will enjoy and will help him develop further.
- Jack shows initial interest but abandons good gift almost immediately when he realises there is a short learning curve involved.
- Months later, Jack ultimately embraces good gift and never looks back
This year we bought Jack the sexiest balance bike in Cape Town. I’m talking about the most bad ass balance-bike the tots in our local park have ever seen.
We bought it because Jack has mastered his bashed up plastic push-bike, and spends hours every week doing laps of our garden on it. The new bike will greatly develop his balance and allow him to ride much faster, over all terrain. Soon he’ll be ready for a pedal bike, and then a whole host of options open up.
But as anticipated (and I had mentally prepared myself for this)… Jack’s initial fascination has waned and he generally opts for the Big Jim pushbike. Its easier and he’s more comfortable on it. He’s not really learning to balance though, and its not going to prepare him for a pedal-bike.
All this got me thinking…
- Father’s have a long term view to gift giving, and they know what is good because they’ve experienced it themselves.
- Kids don’t always appreciate good gifts, sometimes they ignore them because they don’t see the potential.
- Kids need to trust their Fathers (have faith in their gift giving) and push through the learning curve.
Jesus spells it out (somewhat sarcastically) in Matthew and reminds us that God isn’t giving us gifts that our earthly Fathers might give. He says if you as fallen-human’s can actually be nice to your kids, just consider for a moment how wonderful a perfect God is capable of being to you.
These are really GOOD gifts. Gifts that God knows will be a blessing to our souls, our eternities, our families and our neighbourhoods.
Since we got married, Cath and I have dabbled with joint prayer. Its accepted wisdom that praying with your spouse is good, but I’ve never really embraced it. Our joint-prayer life has always been entirely reactive. Usually in response to a crisis and never consistent. Cath has been keen to do more for years, but I’ve never really given myself to it.
After mulling over the dynamics of gift giving and the apathy of children, I felt a strong conviction that I have been ignoring a GOOD gift from God. So Cath and I have booked off 30 minutes once a week in our calendars to pray together. Its a small start, definitely attainable. I am excited to see where it takes us though, and what it leads to down the line.
What is the thing you have been ignoring or apathetic about for the last few years? Maybe like me, its theory you’ve long accepted as true, but have failed to act on. Maybe its something unusual. Is God’s calling you to generosity? To hospitality? To new involvement in community? To read? To sing? To journal? What is the lingering whisper year after year that you have been unwilling to commit to?
What GOOD gift have you left wrapped under the tree this Christmas?
