“Big people” may think they have explained something to a four-year-old, but what the adult says and what the child hears can be quite different.
“Big people” may think they have explained something
to a four-year-old, but what the adult says and what the child hears
can be quite different.
The grandmother explained to the pert four-year-old
granddaughter the purpose of the shoe boxes they were filling with
small Christmas gifts.
“We are gathering these toys so we can send them to
children in a foreign country. They are very poor and their parents
will not be able to give them any gifts, so we are sending them these
toys so they will have a better Christmas.”
The young lady shook her head, indicating she understood.
Later, after the toys were rounded up from various stores, the grandmother took the lass home.
When they went inside, the grandmother told the
child, “Explain to your mother what we have been doing.”
“We have been getting toys and candy and things and
putting them in shoe boxes. Then we are going to send them to children
who do not live here.”
“Tell you mother why we are sending the gifts to the children.”
“Well, there are some really, really bad children,” the little girl
explained to her carefully listening mother, “ so their parents can’t
give them anything for Christmas, so we are sending them presents so
they will have something.”
Obviously, the small child shared the concern of
millions of others, wondering if she had been good enough to receive
toys for Christmas, or if her stocking would be empty because she had
been bad!
The child was too young to understand, but I wanted
to tell her, “Don’t worry, our parents give us what they give us
through grace, not works.”
But I doubt she would have understood that. I’m not
too sure that we adult Christians are able to understand that how God
blesses us depends upon His grace and not if we have been bad or good.
If God is motivated by works and merit, we would never have received
the first Christmas Present.
Remember this Christmas, by grace you have received, so by grace give.