John 3:16-18
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
A woman complained to a psychologist that very dear, old friends had a habit of giving Christmas gifts that were quite expensive and/or elaborate…and she and her husband could not afford to reciprocate. She asked the psychologist how to handle this…and the reply was – “Remember ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ who gave what he could. If your friends can afford to give more costly gifts...and they seem to want to do this – let them. Give what you can in return, and don’t worry about it.”
I thought about “The Little Drummer Boy”, a Christmas song composed in 1958 by Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone. In part, the words say “I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum…That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum”. No truer words were ever spoken. We can never give Jesus a gift that is anywhere NEAR the value of what He has given us…and He doesn’t care! Jesus is not interested in the monetary value or the magnitude of our gift.
God did not send His Only Son to earth in anticipation of what we might do for Him in return. All we have to do is give Him our heart and our commitment to always do our very best…to honor Jesus with our words, actions and service to others. If you remember the last verses of this song, the “Little Drummer Boy” asks Mary if she would like to hear him play his drum, and she nods her approval. The “Little Drummer Boy” plays his drum…and Jesus smiles at him.
Jesus smiles at us and takes great delight when we follow Him faithfully and give Him our very best. This is the only gift that He desires. What are you giving Him these days?
©2014 Debbie Robus
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