Giving A Gift

by Pat Hackney

Every year as Carole�s birthday approaches I begin to think about the gift I plan to get for her. Often I end up giving her a card with money in it. I just don't know what she would like to have and this way she can get what she really wants. Why would I do this? It is because I realized a long time ago it is not the price that sets the value on the gift I give. It is how much love goes with it. This is what matters in the end. It is the affection we feel for the one we are giving the gift. It is the selfless thought that makes the gift good and real. Many times something very simple can bring the most happiness. A little child can understand this better than we can.

This weekend Carole and I attended the birthday party of a little boy named Benjamin. He received some expensive toys as gifts. But the one gift he seemed to enjoy the most was the least expensive. It was given to him by his grandfather. Perhaps it was because his grandfather knew exactly what he needed and what he would truly enjoy.

Our heavenly Father knows what we need and He is the greatest of all gift givers. James tells us: �Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning� ( James 1:17). May we all aspire to be good gift givers by becoming more like Jesus Christ who is the greatest gift that has ever been given to mankind.