It’s the thought that counts, right? That’s what we are taught from an early age. I have heard some parents lament, as a result, that they feel guilty when they have a piece of child-crafted art bestowed upon them, yet again, and they don’t know what to do with it, let alone what it is. Each scribble is a prize and a special gift, at least in the mind of the giver. “Yeah, Daddy, how come that drawing was in the trashcan?” “I don’t know. Good thing you rescued it for me.”In truth, such thoughtful gifts are important to us as parents, as are many other little things that don’t hold much monetary value.  

Value is not really objective, though. A lot of things have value attached to them, especially if they are available in great number on store shelves. Other things, which are old, unique, or even one-of-a-kind are harder to place a value on. They are worth whatever someone will pay for them. If more than one person is willing to pay for it, the price goes up. Then there are the priceless items that are important to us, even if they are the sort of things that we’d box up after a yard sale to donate to the thrift sale because no one wanted to buy them  - even when everything was half price after lunch. Nonetheless, if an item has “history”; if it has a back story, like the person who gave it to us, or the moment it time it represents, we don’t need to have an external value. Its value is completely subjective and unarguable.

We must also note that sometimes it’s not the thought, either. Hypothetically speaking, if a man had two young daughters and loved them both a great deal. And if, hypothetically speaking, the two girls like different things…say one that had an expensive hobby and one with an inexpensive hobby, do you think the man could get away with giving both girls the same number of gifts, even if both girls knew the greater worth of the two piles? The thought and the love is the same, but most young girls would not see them as equal. Hypothetically speaking.  

Others have played the hypothetical game, not unlike Jesus, about giving gifts. The example he used, when showing his disciples the coming and going at the Temple, was to describe how the small gift, when it represents a larger percentage of the widow’s resources, is greater than the large gift of the wealthy. It always makes me squirm to wonder how God views the gifts we leave at the altar as a result. It’s the thought that counts, right? I sure hope so.  

The reason Jesus teaches this way is because he knows the thought AND the value behind the gifts we have been given by God. God is sentimental, fortunately for us, and values us a great deal, even if we are the leftover yard sale sort on any particular day. God’s not objective about us. God has paid a pretty high price for us, when it comes right down to it. Remember the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, Jesus coaches us; if God cares for them, how much more does he care for us, are we not of more value than they? Of course we are!

This is a season of gift-giving, to be sure. Even now, many of us are trying to figure out what the most thoughtful (in-budget) gift is for different people in our lives. Hopefully the gifts are not throwaway gifts, literally or physically. Even simple gifts are meaningful, though. Sometimes being remembered IS enough. For others, it is the carefully curated gift that we know touches them on some level, or conveys our knowledge of their wants, likes, or needs. The thought behind such gifts, again, is part of what gives them value.

This season of giving is also a season of receiving, however. Remembering why God became flesh, and why God has promised so many gifts yet to come to us is where we find the meaning in Christmas. It is absolutely the thought that counts. And God’s gifts are priceless to boot.  God’s never really been objective about us, and I hope God doesn’t start getting practical anytime soon.  

Tom+

As streets fill with shoppers
Bright lights and tempting offers
Christmas songs and children’s laughter
You lead us along a different path
To a desert river and a Prophetic voice
A call to repentance
A call to service
A call to immerse ourselves
In living water that will never run dry
A call to prepare a way in our own lives
For the Savior of the world to enter in
To know the touch of tender mercy
And rest in your forgiving loveFor your faithful prophets
And your Living Word
We give you thanks. AmenFrom Faithandworship.com