For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
Gifts that Satisfy
Another Christmas is behind us now and as I reflect on it and Christmases past, I realize that there are few other times in our lives that are filled with as many expectations than there are during the holiday season. And not just any old expectations, but HIGH expectations and none so evident than those of my students each December of my teaching career.
Teaching in a small, rural school Christmas was celebrated in every classroom. Children drew a name of a classmate to buy a gift for and teachers purchased gifts for each of their students, all to be exchanged on the last day before break. The tree went up, the gifts went under, the expectations grew.
Each year’s celebration went pretty much the same: a Christmas craft while listening to carols play, gorging on treats and pop proudly brought in by each child, and then the moment they’d not so patiently been waiting for….opening their gifts. And each year I witnessed the same reactions as my students opened the presents I’d carefully wrapped for each of them and it was rarely what I hoped for.
No matter how much thought I put into the presents I purchased, the majority of my students weren’t satisfied with what they received. You see, they pictured me as someone who would make their wishes come true, could afford to buy them the gift of their dreams, the one who would get them exactly what they wanted. And so, when the contents of the torn paper was revealed some of the kids visibly let out a sad sigh, others just slowly pushed the gift aside, and one or two every year would look at me and with disappointment ask, “Is this all?”
Those precious students I taught weren’t trying to be mean or rude; they just expected more or something different from me than they received. As I’ve pondered on this since Friday, something has occurred to me. (Surprise, surprise!) Isn’t this just the way we or maybe I should say the way I respond to what God offers?
There’s no doubt that my prayers can often turn in to a “wish list” for God. Maybe yours can too. We know that God is all powerful and the Bible tells us over and over that He can do anything, and so we see Him as the One who can make our wishes come true, give us what our dreams are made of, and make happen exactly what we want.
Then, what we receive is revealed, and sometimes all we can do is sigh. Maybe we push it aside trying hard to ignore what we’ve received, and if you’re like me, we’ve even raise our hands to the sky and ask with disappointment, “Is this all?” More often than we’d like, we’re just not satisfied.
“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down
from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
James 1:16-17 (NIV)
“And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit,
because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance
with the will of God. And we know that in all things
God works for the good of those who love Him,
who havebeen called according to His purpose.
”Romans 8:27-28 (NIV)
What I’m reminded of is this: there’s a BIG difference between an imperfect teacher trying her best to give a gift that will measure up to her students’ expectations and our perfect Father who always offers us the very best. And here’s the thing, those gifts, His will, is always going to far exceed our expectations, even in our disappointment, when we truly trust the Giver.
The truth is, I could never have satisfied the wishes of those children who passed through my classroom over the years. They didn’t understand what their desires would have really cost, the effect it would have had on my own family, or how the presents I gave were really an expression of my love and care for them.
My friends, as we move into a new year, let’s try and remember as children of God that He’s already paid the cost for our misdirected desires, He knows the effects that will result from giving us what we wish for, and most of all, that even when we don’t understand what we find ourselves given, we can know it’s all wrapped in the only Love that will ever satisfy.
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child,
I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways
of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection
as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part;
then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.
But the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:11-13
If you’d like to read more about “Satisfied” click over to http://www.fiveminutefriday.com where I’ve joined with others writing to the prompt.
Good food for thought, but it still made me feel so sad to read about your students not appreciating the gifts you got them. That must have been so disappointing.