The Chicken Was Delicious

Growing up as a child, I believed Christmas to be such a wonderful time of year because of all of the getting. I would have an endless list of presents which I hoped Santa would bring (or at least my parents could supply should the North Pole be out of stock on those items). For the most part, I rarely remember a Christmas morning in which my hours were not spent being amazed at all that I had gotten. Yet, I was more bewildered that my parents, with much less under the tree for themselves, seemed to enjoy those mornings even more than I did. It was as though they were finding more joy in giving than was possible in getting. As I have grown older and now have children of my own, I have certainly come to appreciate their perspective on all those Christmas mornings. Of course, giving is not necessarily easy. The cost on a gift may exponentially exceed whatever joy we thought might be derived by the recipient, as the following story illustrates.

Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed the gifts that they were able to give to their elderly mother.

The first said, "I built a big house for our mother." The second said, "I sent her a Mercedes with a driver." The third said, "I've got you both beat. You know how Mom enjoys reading the Bible and you know she can't see very well? I sent her a large brown parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took twenty Bible scholars 12 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $1,000,000 a year for twenty years to the seminary, but it was worth it. Mom just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot will recite it." Soon thereafter, Mom sent out her letters of thanks. She wrote to the first son, "Milton, the house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house." She wrote to the second son, "Marvin, I am too old to travel. I stay home all the time, so I never use the Mercedes and the driver is SO rude." She wrote to the third son, "Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious."

Several months ago, Genee and I gave a gift to a reputable ministry which provides for the needs of persecuted believers around the world. We gave because we had read reports from this ministry that many believers around the world are desperate for a priceless gift for which so many of us take for granted—they wanted a Bible of their own. We gave because God impressed it upon our hearts that there was something we could do about this need. There was certainly nothing magical about writing that check. Quite honestly, there were some other good things we could have done with that money. However, a few weeks later, we received a “thank you” note along with this picture.

This photo now hangs upon our refrigerator as a reminder of a simple truth spelled out so plainly in the teaching and life of Jesus Christ: It is more blessed to give than it is to receive (Acts 20:35). It is a joy so precious that God Himself now invites us to participate in it. It is a joy so inexpressible that we could not imagine anything crueler than keeping it from others. So in this season of much getting (and this is appropriate because we celebrate the gift of God’s own Son), it is my prayer that you will know the joy of giving so that others might come to know Jesus Christ!

Celebrating Joyfully,

Jason