A Defining Moment

“And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.’”
Luke 21:1-4

Lynne Hybels, the wife of renowned pastor, Bill Hybels, tells of a most touching scene she witnessed years ago. As a child she was very intrigued with a man in a discount store who was struggling with the purchase of a small and inexpensive figurine. His attire revealed much. He was an older man whose children were no doubt grown. The lines in his face and the worn clothes on his back told of a hard and bitter-sweet life. Yet everything about this man communicated the intensity of his love for the recipient of that gift. His gift would not compare with the countless other gifts purchased by those whose incomes afforded much more. The wrapping would probably be less than elaborate. It might be the only gift he could give her. But somehow his gift seemed more significant than any other.

Since that time Mrs. Hybels has seen 30 years of Christmas shopping frenzies, but each year this anonymous shopper is the one who tugs at her heart and moistens her eyes. She says, “Sometimes the most beautiful love stories are etched on the faces of the lowly and shared by the humble.” May such stories of intentional love define your Christmas season this year!

Remember - it’s not what you give as much as it is how you give, why you give, and the love it is given with.