I wrote this years ago and it was printed in the local Baptist church advent devotional. I thought I would share it here —
Christmas time always is a reminder to me of the hope we have in Jesus Christ. In particular, the manger scenes on display remind me of a lesson in hope that I was taught by my daughter, Becca.
My daughters have always loved to play with and arrange the figures in the manger scenes at our house or at my parents’ house. When my daughter, Becca, was four years old, she was playing with a manger scene displayed on the countertop in our house. When I walked by, I noticed there was a coin placed at the feet of the baby Jesus figure. I asked Becca about the quarter that she placed in the manger and was stunned by her reply.
“Daddy, the wise men gave Jesus their gifts and I wanted to give Jesus my gift. I got the quarter from my piggy bank and gave it to Jesus because it’s all I had,” Becca said.
I stood there smiling at first, and then I began to think of what my child actually said. “It’s all I had,” Becca had told me. Could it be that my four-year-old summed up faith, love, and hope in one simple child-like act? Wow! If a four-year-old recognized that Jesus deserves our all without any prodding, then there is hope for every single one of us. God sent His son — His ALL — so that we could have the hope of His eternal ALL. Jesus wants our hearts — our ALL — so that we may honor, glorify, and worship Him. Nobody knew that better than Becca on that day. How humbling it was to see this lesson of giving and hope from a four-year-old.
Every Christmas, when I pull out the manger scene, I am reminded of the simple act of a child giving her all and of the eternal hope we have because Jesus gave his ALL. Will you give your ALL today and have the hope of eternity?
