Christ Like Giving

This Sunday I have the opportunity to preach. My message is entitled, "What Do You Want For Christmas?" I will post more about it and include the audio, on Monday.

In preparing I came across a great story that I believe beautifully depicts Christ like giving. It reminds us that we are never more like Christ, than when we give.

Here it is...

Shortly after World War II came to a close, Europe began picking up the pieces. Much of the Old Country had been ravaged by war and was in ruins. Perhaps the saddest sight of all was that of little orphaned children starving in the streets of those war-torn cities.

Early one chilly morning an American soldier was making his way back to the barracks in London. As he turned the corner in his jeep, he spotted a little lad with his nose pressed to the window of a pastry shop. Inside the cook was kneading dough for a fresh batch of doughnuts. The hungry boy stared in silence, watching every move. The soldier pulled his jeep to the curb, stopped, got out, and walked quietly over to where the little fellow was standing. Through the steamed-up window he could see the mouth-watering morsels as they were being pulled from the oven, piping hot. The boy salivated and released a slight grown as he watched the cook place them onto the glass-enclosed counter ever so carefully.

The soldier’s heart went tout to the nameless orphan as he stood beside him.

“Son…would you like some of those?”

The boy was startled.

“Oh, yeah…I would!”

The American stepped inside and bought a dozen, put them in a bag and walked back to where the lad was standing in the foggy cold of the London morning. He smiled, held out the bag, and said simply: “Here you are.”

As he turned to walk away, he felt a tug on his coat. He looked back and heard the child ask quietly: “Mister … are you God?”

As we approach the birthday of Christ, may we give in a like manner, and as we do, may we remember, when we give, we give to Him (Matthew 25:31-40).